Mrs. Ting, family and relatives and friends of
Lawrence:

　Today, it is with profound sadness that I express
my deepest sorrow for the loss of Lawrence.
Lawrence and I have been good and close friend
for a very long time. For over three decades of friendship, I know Lawrence is a man of impeccable character who has placed the highest regards on
integrity and accountability. He was a man of self-confidence, with a great sense of responsibility, and a perfectionist, polite and a true gentleman. I believe that all of you who know Lawrence would share with me the same opinion. However, it is regretful and painful that he has chosen such a route in life.

　Lawrence was a man with outstanding abilities and talents, courageous and intelligent, which I have come to realize at a very early stage of our friendship. When I served as chairman of the KMT's Finance Committee in 1989, the China & Development Corporation was in a difficult situation, I approached Lawrence to take over the helm of the company and see if he could assist in expanding KMT businesses overseas. He worked hard and conducted an assessment on various strategy locations around the world. At the end, he decided to pursue development plans in Vietnam.

　From the biography about Lawrence you have in hand, we learn he was a man with veritable pioneering spirit, breaking new grounds under adverse conditions, never frowned nor gave up when facing difficulties. These qualities have helped him overcome adversities and over the past several years, successfully established the world's famous Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in Vietnam. With limited resources, there came along materialization of the completion of the Hiep Phuoc Power Plant. Much more remarkable was his vision in developing the Saigon South Urban Development Project. This project encompassed of 2,000 to 3,000 hectares of land and currently, CT&D (Central Trading & Development Corporation) has already developed more than 1000 hectares. It is also my understanding that a forestry project was going on.

　Lawrence has always taken pride of his accomplishments. His investment projects have not only made significant contributions towards the economy of Vietnam, but have also created more than 100,000 employment opportunities for the local people. To express their appreciation for Lawrence's contribution to their country, the Vietnamese government has awarded him through the years with various awards and citations.

　It is most unfortunate that just when the business is making tremendous progress that a dispute among the shareholders should arise. I have been trying personally to mediate the differences among the shareholders for the past several months but to no avail. I truly blame myself for this.

　Lawrence chose to sacrifice his life to prove his innocence over the disputes among the shareholders. On the day prior to his death, Lawrence and I had an in-depth discussion. His business in Vietnam was foremost on his mind. During our conversation, he said something that was difficult for me to forget. Addressing me "Uncle Hsu" as he always did in the past, he said: "Uncle Hsu, if there is any fault, let me take full responsibility for it."

　I could deeply feel his frustration, despondency, and sense of helplessness. His words kept reverberating back on my mind until now. I believe that he must have been under tremendous pressure and stress when he chose to take this desperate and extreme action. This demonstrates Lawrence's strong personality and a soldier's code of honor.

　Perhaps it was his wish that his problems should not involve his business; that his friends and colleagues should not be embroiled and entangled in his problems with the shareholders. I believe that these were his thoughts when he took his life to demonstrate his integrity and innocence. However, what I can not really understand is, does the price have to be that high in order to show responsibility!?

　Today, I am totally lost for words on how to express my sympathy and grief to the family and relatives of Lawrence and to friends who care about Lawrence. It is only my earnest wish that through Lawrence's sacrifice, we have learned an important lesson of love, tolerance and forbearance.