On behalf of Stanford University, it is a great pleasure to welcome all of you to this unprecedented event. The Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project at Stanford was created in recognition of the crucial role that the Chinese who built the Central Pacific Railroad played in creating the fortune with which Leland Stanford founded our university.
Today marks the first time that Stanford University has formally honored their memory. We are delighted that a number of their descendants are here. On behalf of Stanford, I would like to mark our appreciation of the grueling work your ancestors did to make the first railroad linking the nation’s east and west coasts possible.
We are also pleased that official representatives of China are here as well. I welcome Ambassador Luo Linquan and your colleagues. The University is looking forward to hearing more from the Chinese Railroad Workers Project in the future.
Let me also take this opportunity to recognize and congratulate the leadership of this project: Shelley Fishkin and Gordon H. Chang, co-directors, and Dr. Hilton Obenzinger, the associate director.
The event is co-sponsored with the Chinese Historical Society of America: Erwin Tam, current CHSA board president, Connie Young Yu, emeritus board member, and Sue Lee, executive director.