On the evening of September 17, the moon is bright and stars are shining in the autumn night of Beijing. The golden hall of Beijing Hotel is brightly illuminated, and the arbitrators of CIETAC  home and abroad enjoyed a happy get-together. The Welcome Dinner of the first CIETAC Global Arbitrators Forum and the Award Ceremony of the Honorary Arbitrators of CIETAC were held grandly here.

Mr. Lu Pengqi, Vice Chairman of CCPIT and Vice Chairman of CIETAC, Ms. Anna Joubin-Bret, Secretary-General of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (Hereinafter referred to as UNCITRAL), Ms. Zhang Yuejiao, arbitrator of CIETAC, arbitrator of ICSID and former Chairman of the Appellate Body of WTO, Mr. Fei Zongyi, honorary arbitrator of CIETAC, Ms. Zhou Xiaoyan, Director of the European Department of the Ministry of Commerce of China, Mr. Wang Gang, Director of the Coordination Bureau of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council PRC, Ms. Natalie Morris Sharma, President of the Second Task Force of the UNCITRAL, Sir William Blair, former judge of the Commercial Court of the High Court of England and arbitrator, Mr. Kap-You (Kevin) Kim, Vice Chairman of the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Mr. Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab, Vice-Chairman of ICC, Mr. Kaj Hober, Chairman of the Arbitration Court of Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), Mr. Eric Tuchmann, General Counsel of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR-AAA) of the American Arbitration Association (AAA), Mr. Michael Lee, Vice-President of ICDR-AAA, Ms. Mary Thomson, Chairman of East Asia branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), Mr. Ghunther HORVATH, President of the Vienna International Arbitration Centre (VIAC), Mr. Nikolaus Pitkowitz, Vice-President of VIAC, Mr. Leng Sun Chan, Vice President of Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), Mr. Luis Peretti, Secretary General of the Arbitration and Mediation Centre of Brazil Federation of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Roman Zykov, Secretary General of the Russian Arbitration Association and other guests from home and abroad attended the meeting. Ms. Yan Siyi, Ms. Hu Wanru and Ms. Wu Huanning, who were newly awarded the title of honorary arbitrators, were invited to the scene. Nearly 300 Chinese and foreign CIETAC arbitrators attended the ceremony.

Mr. Wang Chengjie, Deputy Director and Secretary General of CIETAC, hosted the Welcome Dinner and the Award Ceremony.

The Welcome Dinner and the Award Ceremony opened at the applause of arbitrators from home and abroad.

First of all, Vice President Lu Pengqi delivered a warm speech, and he sincerely welcomed the arbitrators from home and abroad who attended the event. Vice President Lu Pengqi reviewed the 62-year history of the development of the CIETAC and its arbitrator team, and thanked the arbitrators for their outstanding contributions to the development of CIETAC. He said that arbitrators were the key resources of CIETAC and hoped that arbitrators from home and abroad would continue to support the work of CIETAC and contribute to the prosperity of for international arbitration. At the end of his speech, Vice President Lu Pengqi announced that six senior arbitrators, namely, Ms. Yan Siyi, Mr. Zhao Chengbi, Mr. Wang Yongyuan, Ms. Wu Huanning, Ms. Hu Wanru and Ms. Sally Harpole (He Rong), were awarded the title of honorary arbitrators of CIETAC. In an instant, the Golden Hall burst into applause with sincere congratulations from guests.

Secretary General Wang Chengjie briefed the guests on the election process of the honorary arbitrators. He said that in November 2011, in order to commend the arbitrators who have made outstanding contributions to CIETAC, CIETAC formulated the "Measures for Granting the Title of Honorary Arbitrator". In accordance with the Measures, proposed by the Qualification Examination and Assessment Committee of CIETAC Arbitrators, and after the approval of the Directors’ Meeting of CIETAC, CIETAC decided to confer the title of honorary arbitrator on Ms. Yan Siyi and other five senior arbitrators. Secretary General Wang Chengjie also introduced the outstanding contributions made by the six honorary arbitrators to the development of CIETAC and expressed his thanks and congratulations on behalf of CIETAC.

Subsequently, Secretary General Wang Chengjie invited the awarded guests to come to the stage to receive the awards. Ms. Yan Siyi, Ms. Wu Huanning and Ms. Hu Wanru, as representatives of honorary arbitrators, stepped onto the rostrum with congratulations. Vice President Lu Pengqi awarded them honorary arbitrator nameplates and present them with flowers. The three honorary arbitrators were very excited after winning the awards. Ms. Yan Siyi delivered a touching speech on behalf of the honorary arbitrators. Ms. Sally Harpole also sent a video clip from the other side of the ocean, the U.S., thanking CIETAC for awarding her the title.

Behold a great man with awe admiration and people cannot help but follow his behavior as a code of conducts. The six senior arbitrators honored as honorary arbitrators have handled a large number of difficult cases and safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of both Chinese and foreign parties in the spirit of impartiality, honesty and seeking truth from facts when serving on tribunals. They have earned the trust of the parties due to their diligence, professionalism and experience. They have deep love in arbitration, and actively offer suggestions for the work of CIETAC. They have devoted their wisdom and efforts to promoting the development of arbitration in China. It is because of their personal practice, sincere dedication, and model effects that CIETAC arbitration can build good reputation internationally and win trust and recognition of Chinese and foreign parties. They truly deserve the title of honorary arbitrators. It will stimulate more arbitrators to work diligently, enthusiastically and to be guardians of social fairness and justice.

The arbitrator team is the most valuable human resource and intellectual support for CIETAC. Over the years, CIETAC arbitrators, both new and senior arbitrators have worked hard and made important contributions to the development of CIETAC. This year, the First CIETAC Global Arbitrators Forum was held to bring together the wisdom and strength of the global arbitrators to draw a blueprint for the future development of CIETAC and jointly promote a better future for international arbitration.

The Welcome Dinner and the Award Ceremony ended with blessing.

As the representative of honorary arbitrator, Ms. Yan Si Yi's impressive speech has been echoed in everyone’s mind for a long time. Ms. Yan's sincere words, from the bottom of her heart, reflect her love for CIETAC and her earnest expectations for the future development of CIETAC. Ms. Yan's sincere and wonderful speech touched the guests, and received warm applause from the guests. In order to promote integrity and encourage the younger generation, let's review Ms. Yan Siyi's award-winning speech as a joint encouragement.  

Arbitrator Yan Si Yi's award speech is quoted as below:

Dear directors, arbitrators, friends:

Today, we are very excited to be invited by the Conference to this grand and memorable dinner.

First of all, we would like to express our sincere thanks to the leaders and colleagues of CIETAC for their long-term support and assistance for our arbitration work and for awarding us honorary arbitrators after we retired from the arbitrator team. This is not only an affirmation and recognition of our work, but also the greatest spiritual comfort and encouragement for our later life. We must cherish this honor.

From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, we were appointed as arbitrators of CIETAC and CMAC on the recommendation of the senior arbitrators of CIETAC. So far it has been twenty or thirty years. It can be said that some of us are a generation of arbitrators who have witnessed the establishment, the development and growth of CIETAC, and hoped that CIETAC will become more and more powerful.

The achievements of CIETAC today were based on the guidance of leadership of the Communist Party of China and the reform and opening policies, through the joint efforts of several generations of people with indomitable will, perseverance, and hard work.

We can proudly say that CIETAC has stood tall among the world's international arbitration institutions and has made considerable contributions to promoting the development of the world economy. As an arbitrator of CIETAC, I feel honored and proud.

In the decades of arbitration practice, we have inherited and learned from the older generation of arbitrators about their profound legal theory, rich experience, honesty and integrity, exquisite professional skills, and we have also seized the opportunity to absorb the unique knowledge and strengths of the new generation of arbitrators. We have always hear cases fairly, reasonably, independently and impartially, in strict accordance with the Rules of Arbitration of CIETAC, the facts, and the law and with reference to relevant international practices.

In the course of handling cases for many years, we have always been supported and helped by each session of leaders of CIETAC, and also received selfless, enthusiastic help and respect from young generation of CIETAC in daily case management. We thank you once again from the bottom of our hearts and share the honor given to us by CIETAC with the fellows who share our common interests in arbitration. Let's stay true to the mission, unite as one and work hard to make CIETAC more and more powerful. Thank you!