His Excellency Ambassador Sawadogo, Dr. Koo, Mme. Wen, Distinguished Guests, Fellow Members, Ladies and Gentlemen: Good morning!

For us, the Lunar New Year holiday is an opportunity to spend time with our family and close friends.

It gives me great pleasure to celebrate this holiday with the members and friends of the WTIC once again.

On behalf of our board of directors and supervisors, I would like to extend my heartfelt greetings to all of you: 恭喜發財﹗萬事如意﹗ (May you enjoy prosperity and happiness!)

The program for our celebration today features both singing and dancing by some of our talented members. We also have prepared for you examples of Chinese calligraphy that offer blessing for the year to come.

We are especially delighted to have the prestigious Taipei Li-yuan Chinese Opera Troupe to perform a lion dance and a "dance of promotion".

Both dances depict the lively, optimistic and passionate facets of our traditional culture. We also wish each of you good fortune, peace and health!

According to the Chinese zodiac, the year 2011 marks the Year of the Rabbit. This year also happens to be the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China. Coincidently, this year the Welcome to Taipei International Club will celebrate its 25th anniversary.

As we celebrate the Lunar New Year, we reflect on the past and count our blessings. On behalf of all our members, I would like to express my gratitude to the WTIC founders and our predecessors for their vision to create this club that promotes international friendships through cultural exchanges. As of this year, the total number of members has grown to more than 260.

This Thursday, the 17th of February, our Lantern Festival will commence. I hope you will enjoy our traditional sky lanterns, riddles, fried dumplings and fireworks!

Lastly, I would like to remind everyone that, following the conclusion of today's program, a raffle will be held. I would like to extend my appreciation to our directors, supervisors, members and guests for their generosity in providing the prizes.

Once again, I would like to wish everyone good health and happiness during the Year of the Rabbit! Thank you!