Dr. Koo, Mrs. Yang, Distinguished guests, Fellow members, Ladies and gentlemen: Good morning!

Welcome to 2012, the Year of the Dragon! The dragon was the imperial symbol of power and wealth in ancient China, and today it symbolizes success and happiness. On behalf of the WTIC board of directors and supervisors, I cordially extend to you the greeting "龍年行大運", which means "May the year of the dragon bring you good fortune."

Traditionally, Chinese New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The WTIC is just like a big family, with its members coming from different parts of the world, and we cherish the international friendships made possible by having you all here. It is my sincere hope that you will enjoy the Lunar New Year celebrations here in Taiwan. These celebrations conclude with the lantern festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month. Lots of activities take place around Taiwan to mark the lantern festival, such as a giant lantern display, the Pinghsi sky lantern festival, the Yanshui fireworks and so forth.

I would like to take this opportunity to show my deep gratitude to our founders and my predecessors for their commitment to making the WTIC better and stronger over the years. Their vision and dedication are greatly appreciated and respected. I would also like to add that it is the active participation and support of our esteemed members that allows the WTIC to continue to prosper.

We have a full program today, consisting of various musicians, our very talented members and special groups. Performances include singing – with a solo, a trio and a chorus – followed by a scarf fashion show and salsa dance, again, all done by our talented members. And I'm delighted that the famous Long Teng Troupe will be kicking off the celebrations with a lion dance and good will masque dance.

We have also invited well-known musicians to play the Chinese bamboo flute and perform a piano duet. Then we have a Tai-chi-chuan demonstration by our interest group members, as well as a calligraphy presentation. At the end of the performances, we have arranged a lucky draw. Our special thanks go to the generous directors, supervisors, members and guests for sponsoring the prizes.

I want to end now by thanking everyone for being here, and to say how grateful I am to the staff and volunteers for the countless hours they have put in to making this event possible.

I wish you and your families a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Thank you!