An Ambassador for Culture and Peace with the Aim to Better the World

Forty-four years ago， a diligent Chinese student graduated from National University of Singapore (NUS) with a Bachelor of Science degree， and also had outstanding performance in courses including finance， marketing， management and languages like German， Japanese and French. Thirtyfour years ago， he started to expand his business against the background of great potential in Chinese market， which eventually made significant contribution to China’s economic boom. Nineteen years ago， he got down to a worldwide contest named“Bride of the World” so as to support China in the bid for the right to host the year 2000 summer Olympic Games. The protagonist of the legendary business story is Zhang Zhengqun， Chairman of Singapore“Bride of the World” Organization and President of International BOW Committee， who has been awarded the title of “Vice Chairman” by the Council of China’s Foreign Trade in 2011， as well as the title of “AsiaPacific’s Most Admired Chinese Entrepreneurs” by China Economic Trading Promotion Agency in 2012.

On his way to success， Zhang Zhengqun always takes it upon himself to promote cultural and economic exchange with an aim to better the world， for a world of peace， philanthropy and prosper-ity. Bearing the deep love for the motherland， he shows a beautiful China in front of the world.

A born peace-lover

As known to all， parents are the best teachers for children. Zhang Zhengqun was no exception， who was greatly influenced by his family. His ancestors were living in Long Yan， which was a city in Fujian province. As a scholar， his grandfather possessed the conventional merits and taught his father poetry and calligraphy. Though having little chance to study at school， his father learned much all by himself and devoted actively to promoting social development such as the agrarian reform during those very young days of his.

Zhang’s father began to do business in Singapore when he was 16. Even though being far away from the motherland， his father was much concerned about the development of China. Zhang was born in Singapore， but inherited this affection for the neverseen-before motherland.

Exposed to business when he was 12， Zhang helped his father to deliver accordions and madein-China sewing machines and bicycles for export. To be an entrepreneur with Confucian spirits， that is to be perseverant， innovative and socially-inclined， was the most valuable treasure carried on from his father， which always impressed and inspired him in an effective way.

As a peace-lover， Zhang took part in communication activities frequently， and learned Japanese and German in the early days of university and career， in order to express his understanding and support for the people of these two countries who were naturally eager for peace due to the bitter experience of the Second World War. To fulfill the dream of maintaining peace， he served as liaison with Japanese Embassy and led University delegations to visit Japan.

Having practiced for a long time and shortly after Singapore won independence， Zhang got a chance to work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a commercial secretary at the Embassy of Singapore based in the European Economic Community. Three years later， attracted by the vibrant finance market in Hong Kong， he headed to Hong Kong with his family and joined an international watch company， and soon turned to the market of futures transaction.

Despite all the obstacles， Zhang has made every effort to embrace his motherland. Such patriotism and persistency influenced by his father will be continued and deserve the admiration and respect from the younger generation.

Unusual 1978: making great contribution to the economy

1978， is the year when Singapore missed the opportunity to host the Asian Games due to the priority given to its economic development; is the license plate number of Zhang Zhengqun’s car; is a gloomy time for him because his dearest father passed away that year. It was such an unusual year that left him bitterness and disappointment， but also provided him a chance of rebirth.

Influenced greatly by his family， Zhang persisted in his unique concepts of doing business in a Confucian way with respect and honest y， which meant determination， innovation and never say no. After mature deliberation， he restarted t h e B a i l i n g Company， which was once forced to suspend due to the inexperience， financial problems and debt problems， and led it to a successful development direction. Moreover， he benefited a lot from the cooperation with Hong Kong friends， and with the confidence from which， he established a technology trade company and a consulting firm providing service for China ventures. His business scope was extended from import and export trade years ago to technology transfer， investment service， etc. With innovative ideas and long-term perspective， Zhang was also engaged in energy-efficient product development and strived to establish a cooperation platform among China， Singapore and India (which is known as ChinSinDia). Though the process was zigzag and full of uncertainties， his business group was set up gradually owing to his strong faith， original insight and ambitious foresight.

Having not accessed into WTO， China was in an initial phase of development at that time. Noticing the huge potential for economic prosperity of Chinese market， Zhang endeavored in attracting investment and inviting business into China. As a member of Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce， he energetically took part in the economic and trade cooperation between China and Singapore， as well as the communication activities amongst Chinese entrepreneurs all around the world. It proved that he was right. The skyrocketing of China’s economy in the past years rewarded his contribution to the social development and stimulated him to seek for opportunities to realize more dreams.

A new era: establishing the“Bride of the World”

A deep sense of responsibility and enthusiastic concern with world peace is the result of sound family education from Zhang’s father. He began to prepare for the “Bride of the World” Contest in 1993 since he was long for spreading such spirit and demonstrating the beauty of diversity. Before that， he had been engaged in promoting Singapore-China sports friendly exchange by joining international sports organisations like International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

To express people’s expectation and pursuit of happy family life， “Bride of the World” Contest attempted to select the brides whose beauty catering for the ethical and conventional style， as well as modern attribute. “Bride of the World” reflected the consensus about expectations for the society， family and children in each particular culture， despite the differences in regions， religions， cultures， societies and politics. It aimed to present people’s simple wish and pure ideal in the pursuit of happiness， which can be said to be among the largest common denominators of humanity.

The first “Bride of the World”Contest was held in Beijing so as to support China in the bid for the right to host the year 2000 summer Olympic Games. The champion of “Bride of the World”， Marzenna from Poland， along with 36 pretty brides from 30 countries， was led by the bride from Beijing to show their distinctive charms on the stage. Through the selecting process， new female image and evaluation standards were set up throughout the whole society. People started to notice the important role women play in fostering children， managing family and supporting elders. Showcasing women as the key connected with the family happiness and a world of peace and harmony， this contest was reported widely throughout the whole world， which also demonstrated the open， comprehensive and friendly civilization of China， as well as the respect for women’s rights， in front of the whole world.

Seventeen years later， with the purpose to satisfy people’s demands of recovering original simplicity， “Bride of the World” Contest came back in 2010. The faith in the purest and simplest attitude and concept of life gained worldwide approval. The final in Singapore gave terrific performance through live TV broadcasts with the judges consisting of specialists， scholars， stars， social activists and media.

In 2012， “Bride of China” will be selected in Beijing， who should be a representative of typical contemporary woman in China. During the contest， delegates will show the beauty of Chinese wedding customs， traditional etiquette， and stylish fashion， with a purpose to combine tradition with individuality， and to fuse the promotion of city with culture and tourism. Eventually， the winner will go to Macau for the final in October. Moreover， winners will be invited to Shandong Province in China on September 28th to take part in the event of celebrating Confucius. Next year， the final will be held in China， symbolizing the return and reemergence of the contest.

“Bride of the World” Contest is still on its way to further development. In the age of speed with soaring economy and technology， Zhang offers people a chance to pause and ponder over approaches to gain spiritual pleasure， because such activity meets spiritual demands of people and promotes economic and cultural exchange between countries， bringing people closer to each other.

Success in both career and family

By all accounts， Zhang is not only a successful businessman， but an excellent husband and father. He manages to keep balance between his career and family in an effective way. When coming to Hong Kong， his wife accompanied him with no regret， and found a job in an international enterprise. The business as the exclusive agent in Asia of a famous French fashion brand was undoubtedly owed to her wife’s rich experience in clothing industry， which included designing evening dresses and wedding dresses. All of these efforts helped him a lot in operating the “Bride of the World” Contest. Besides his wife， the fact that both his son from American Brown University and his daughter from the University of Cambridge have their own successful careers proves the strong power of successful family education.

The “Bride of the World” Organization was awarded “The Most Prospect Brand Enterprises” by China Economic Trading Promotion Agency in 2012 due to its contribution to promoting economic and cultural exchange throughout the world. Zhang’s achievements are the results of sound family education and perseverant individual effort. All he has done is from his love of the motherland and world peace. With the aim to benefit all， he will continue his efforts to spread beauty and harmony， and promote peace and prosperity in the future， because this is the best way to show his love toward China and Singapore， and fulfill his dream to make a better world for all.