Address

Mr Luo Gan
State Councilor and Secretary General of the State Council

Distinguished guests, friends and comrades,

The East Asian Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives after nearly one year's preparation is formally established today. Please allow me, first of all, on behalf of the Chinese Government to express our congratulations.

The Chinese Government has always attached high importance to the management and preservation of human heritage. The first Archives Law in Chinese history was approved by the National People's Congress Standing Committee in 1987. For the better and proper preservation of archival materials the Chinese government in recent years has specially appropriated a total of 18 million Yuan (more than 3 million U.S. dollars) to rescue the threatened precious historical documents.

In order to collect and well preserve archival materials and make them available to the public, more than 3,000 archives of various kind at all levels have been established throughout the country with over 300,000 professional archivists. However with the scientific development, how to apply advanced science and technology to archives management remains the priority of present Chinese archival work.

The establishment of EASTICA marks the strengthening of cooperation and mutual support among East Asian Countries/territories. As you know, the 13^th International Congress on Archives will be held in Beijing in 1996. The Congress Organizating Committee headed by a Deputy Secretary General of the State Council has been formed and the preparatory work is now in active progress. The Chinese government thinks highly of this Congress because it is the first time that the International Congress on Archives is held in a developing country since the establishment of ICA in 1950. It is an extraordinary event and China will do his utmost to make the Congress successful. Here in advance, on behalf of the Chinese Government I welcome all of you and archivists in this region and the world over to participate in the Beijing Congress. I also wish the archivists of East Asian countries and territories could work together wish us to make the Congress a success.

Finally, I sincerely wish the Inaugural Conference of EASTICA a complete success and wish the EASTICA could play a more and more important role in the international archival affairs.

Thank you.