Annual Report for the Period January 2004-November 2005 by the President This report was presented at the 3rd Annual General Meeting of our Society.

 

1. The year 2005 is the 600 th anniversary of Zheng He’s maiden voyage in 1405 to the Western Seas ( Southeast Asia and beyond). There are many events and activities organized by our Society as well as other government and private bodies in conjunction with this historic event. Details of some of these activities in Singapore as well as in Malaysia, China, and Taiwan and elsewhere were reported in our most recent newsletter.

2. Membership: The current number of membership of our Society stands at 44 members, and 11 Associate Members.

3. Advisors: During the year, the Society appointed four advisors:

  • Prof. Wang Gungwu, Director, East Asian Institute, NUS

  • Mr Lee Koon Choy, former Ambassador to Indonesia

  • Prof. Wu Jin, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan in December 2004. He gave an informal seminar at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

  • Prof. He Fangchuan, Vice Chairman, Board of Peking University (from December 2004)

4. Newsletter: The second issue of our Newsletter was published in May 2005. Copies were mailed to all members.

5. Activities:

  • The Cheng Ho Cultural Museum under the sponsorship of the IZHS president was completed. The soft launch was made by the Menteri Besar of Melaka Datuk Seri Ali Rustam on 28 September 2005. The date of the official opening has not been decided, most probably at the end of 2005. We intend to invite Malaysia’s PM Abdullah Badawi to grace the occasion.

  • The IZHS successfully collaborated with the Huayinet to organize a section on “Zheng He and Southeast Asia” in connection with the International Conference on “Maritime Asia and Chinese Overseas 1405-2005”. There were four speakers in that section. Two were from the IZHS (Tan Ta Sen and Liaw Yock Fang) and the chair person was also from the IZHS (Leo Suryadinata)
  • The 600th anniversary of Zheng He voyage was also celebrated in Indonesia. On 2 August 2005, in Semarang, the Kopi Semawis dan Semarang Wisma Perdamaian organized an international seminar. The IZHS chairman was invited and read a paper on Cheng Ho and Malacca.

    •
  • On 5 June 2005, Malaysian Chinese Cultural Association, Selangor Chinese Hall and Huashe Yanjiu Zhongxin in Kuala Lumpur jointly organized a seminar to celebrate 600 th Anniversary of the Zheng He maiden voyage. President of IZHS was invited to read a paper on “The Location of the Zheng He Guanchang: A Preliminary Study”.

6. Publications:

  • Our Society signed an agreement with Chenguang Publishers in Yunnan, China to publish a pictorial book on Zheng He Si Shi (The Zheng He Epic). The very impressive 384-page A3 sized hardcover book was published in June 2005. The launch took place on 24 June 2005 at the Diaoyutai State Hall, Beijing. A number of Chinese VIPs were present. The IZHS was represented by our President. The book has been made available at S$100 to members while it is being sold in the bookshops at around S$180/- per copy.

  • Zheng He Shi Shi (The Zheng He Epic)—the Chinese edition was published in July 2005; the English edition will be out at the end of 2005.) price - S$ 170

  • Zheng He yu Dongnanya (Zheng He and Southeast Asia in Chinese) price = S$ 10.

  • Admiral Zheng He and Southeast Asia (English, joint publication with ISEAS) price- S$20 for members.

  • Zheng He Huazhuan (in Chinese, joint publication with Chenguang) price - S$ 10.

  • Zheng He Pictorial Biography (English, joint publication with Chengguang, S$10.)

  • Cheng Ho and Melaka (in English, S$10.)

  • Zheng He yu Maliujia (in Chinese, S$10)

7. Talks:

  • In October 2004: Our Society organized a Dialogue with Mr Gavin Menzies over dinner kindly hosted by Suntec City. It was attended by about 25 members and friends. Mr Menzies brought the audience the latest updates on Zheng He’s voyages.

  • Our Advisor, Prof. Wu Jin, met Council Members on 1 November 2004 and exchanged views on Zheng He’s voyages. On the following day, he gave an informal talk at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS). He gave a detailed and well illustrated account of the history of Zheng He’s voyages and explained the scientific and technological aspects of the voyages. He also expounded on the contemporary significance of the voyages.

8. Financial Report: The financial report was prepared by Mr Ong Chu Meng, and will be presented at the meeting.

 

Dated 12 November 2005

 

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