April 1, 2003
Industrialist Chiang Chen Receives President’s
Medal
By Matthew
Lindsay
President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg awarded The George Washington University
President’s Medal to Chiang Chen, chair of the Chen Hsong Group
and donor/founder of Chiang Industrial Charity Foundation, in a ceremony
in Hong Kong on March 21. Trachtenberg bestowed the medal on Chiang
in recognition of his leadership of China’s manufacturing industry,
his commitment to China’s economic development, and his lifelong
support of human resource development and education.
“Throughout his life Chiang Chen has shown he is more than willing
to devote his time and energy to helping others,” said Trachtenberg.
“I am privileged to present Chiang with the President’s Medal.
He exemplifies the qualities we look for in a President’s Medalist,
as well as in our fellow man.”
The President’s Medal was initiated by Trachtenberg in 1988 and
is the highest honor that the president may award. It is given to individuals
who have exhibited courage, character, and leadership in their chosen
fields and who exemplify the ability of all human beings to improve
the lives of others. Previous recipients of the honor include Mikhail
Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union; Vaclav Havel, former
president of the Czech Republic; and Shimon Peres, former prime minister
of Israel and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, among others.
“I would like to thank President Trachtenberg and The George Washington
University for this prestigious award,” said Chiang. “To look
at the careers and lives of past President’s Medalists and be included
in this amazing group of individuals is a great honor.”
Beginning his career as a mechanic with no professional training, Chiang
opened a small machinery maintenance workshop in Hong Kong in 1958.
By 1966, he had produced the first 10-ounce plastic-injection molding
machine and was awarded “Best New Product” by the Chinese
Manufacturers Association in the same year. His business eventually
grew from that small workshop to the Chen Hsong Group, a global leader
in today’s plastic machinery industry.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
