China says farewell to "father of space technology" (2)
16:42, November 06, 2009 
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"I was deeply moved. I did not expect so many people to come to mourn him," said Qian Yonggang, his son.
Flowers and mourning wreaths, brought by visitors, filled the doorway of the apartment building and workers had to repeatedly move them away.
Wei Li, a student of Xi'an Jiaotong University, said he felt a personal attachment to Qian after he joined a pilot program initiated by and named after Qian, which tried creative methods to educate young scientists.
Family members of Chinese space scientist Qian Xuesen attend the farewell ceremony for him in Beijing, China, Nov. 6, 2009.(Xinhua/Fan Rujun)
"My classmates and I were shocked when the news came to us. We held a candle light rally for him Sunday night," he recalled. "I learned a lot about him. My heart was heavy as a master fell."
Wei attended the farewell ceremony on behalf of all the classmates in the program.
"I would like to tell him that we will pass on his legacy and fulfill the missions he did not have the time to do," he said.
Qian is widely remembered for abandoning a decent life in the United States and returning to then poor China in the 1950s.
"There was a huge gap between life here and in the United States in the 1950s when China had just gone through a devastating civil war," said Zheng Nanning, president of the Xi'an Jiaotong University and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
"We should remember all intellectuals of older generations like Qian for their deep love and devotion to the motherland."
After graduating from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1934, Qian studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later at the California Institute of Technology. In 1939, he received a doctorate in aviation and mathematics.
In 1947, at the age of 36, Qian was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute.
He decided to go back to the mainland after New China was founded but, amid the McCarthyism of the 1950s, allegations were made that he was a communist who stole confidential information about the U.S. government.
Qian was put in prison for 15 days, followed by house arrest under surveillance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for five years.
In June 1955, a letter from Qian managed to reach then Premier Zhou Enlai, resulting in Sino-U.S. talks which led to his release.
Together with his wife and two children, Qian sailed for more than a month before arriving in the mainland.
He joined the CPC in 1958.
Source: Xinhua
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Flowers and mourning wreaths, brought by visitors, filled the doorway of the apartment building and workers had to repeatedly move them away.
Wei Li, a student of Xi'an Jiaotong University, said he felt a personal attachment to Qian after he joined a pilot program initiated by and named after Qian, which tried creative methods to educate young scientists.
Family members of Chinese space scientist Qian Xuesen attend the farewell ceremony for him in Beijing, China, Nov. 6, 2009.(Xinhua/Fan Rujun)
"My classmates and I were shocked when the news came to us. We held a candle light rally for him Sunday night," he recalled. "I learned a lot about him. My heart was heavy as a master fell."
Wei attended the farewell ceremony on behalf of all the classmates in the program.
"I would like to tell him that we will pass on his legacy and fulfill the missions he did not have the time to do," he said.
Qian is widely remembered for abandoning a decent life in the United States and returning to then poor China in the 1950s.
"There was a huge gap between life here and in the United States in the 1950s when China had just gone through a devastating civil war," said Zheng Nanning, president of the Xi'an Jiaotong University and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
"We should remember all intellectuals of older generations like Qian for their deep love and devotion to the motherland."
After graduating from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1934, Qian studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later at the California Institute of Technology. In 1939, he received a doctorate in aviation and mathematics.
In 1947, at the age of 36, Qian was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute.
He decided to go back to the mainland after New China was founded but, amid the McCarthyism of the 1950s, allegations were made that he was a communist who stole confidential information about the U.S. government.
Qian was put in prison for 15 days, followed by house arrest under surveillance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for five years.
In June 1955, a letter from Qian managed to reach then Premier Zhou Enlai, resulting in Sino-U.S. talks which led to his release.
Together with his wife and two children, Qian sailed for more than a month before arriving in the mainland.
He joined the CPC in 1958.
Source: Xinhua
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90785/6806466.pdf