Our speaker was Wu Yiqun, Executive Director and Professor, ThinkTank Research Center for Health Development (wuyq1946@sina.com) and www.healthtt.org.cn 

Relocated to the countryside in Hunan during the 60's, she subsequently set up a chemistry factory (she is a chemistry Professor).  Academically able she built up the factory.  Later she studied in the States for two years.  She speaks good English and is married to someone senior at Xinhua News Agency.  He smoked and she wanted to find a way to help people like her husband quit.

Normally at Beijing Community Dinner (every second Saturday) we fundraise for the NGO who speaks.  Wu Yiqun did not want money as she is funded partly by Bill Gates Foundation.  Her work covers:

- AIDS injections (how to give safely/cheaply)

- Chronic disease prevention

- Anti-smoking

She handed out a very humorous but educative anti-smoking book which I kept.  I will use it in the magazine.  This lady is very humorous, very intelligent and VERY tough.  We brainstormed ideas on how smoking had been made unfashionable in other countries (dinner attendees are global Diaspora - mainly Chinese).  Most of our time was spent developing a media campaign and talking about influence through film/media/and changing habits in entertainment.  We also addressed the issue of young women who are the new target market for cigarette companies.  Very interesting evening all around.

-Clare Pearson