Monaco, February 24, 2007
Master Tchang Tchon-Jen, a noted Chinese sculptor and calligrapher, works with his friend Ami d'Hergé on the illustration of the book titled “The Blue Lotus” for the Tintin series. Among his creations, he unveils a bust of François Mitterrand in 1988 and a bust of Deng Xiaoping in 1994. In 1997, at the initiative of Messrs. Christian Bollier and Italo Bazzoli, and Mrs. Edith Besins, the Monaco-China Association is created in honor of Tchang Tchong-Jen. Upon the death of Master Tchang on October 8, 1998, the Association loses its purpose and remains in abeyance the years that follow. At the invitation of Chinese authorities in 2006, I went to Changchun as a sculptor representing Monaco to create a 2.5-meter bronze sculpture in the world largest sculpture park. Having fallen in love with China, in early 2007 I re-started the Monaco-China Association with the assistance of Yuan Manas as Vice President, Irina Sorokina as General Secretary, and Christian Bollier as Counselor. It is with great pleasure that on the evening of the above date, some fifteen persons interested in China gathered around a table to celebrate the Chinese New Year and the rebirth of the Association.
The goals of the Association are:
“to promote and facilitate cultural exchanges between China and the Principality of Monaco with a view to broadening mutual knowledge in the areas of the arts, literature, music, tourism, and sports, as well as each country's traditions, in open-minded friendship and mutual understanding.”
