Many well-known doctors, senior legislators and public health officials gathered in Beijing on Friday to mark the 100th birthday of the late Professor Lin Qiaozhi, a pioneer in gynecology in China and a well-respected doctor.

In over sixty years of medical service as a gynecologist and an obstetrician, Professor Lin, also known as Lim Kha T'i, delivered more than 50,000 babies.

Professor Lin, who died in 1983 at the age of 82, was well respected in China for her exceptional medical skills and her excellent medical ethics.

Top Chinese legislator Li Peng has written an inscription in honor of Lin which reads: "Cherishing Forever the Memory of Outstanding Medical Scientist, Professor Lin Qiaozhi".

At a gathering Friday at the Great Hall of the People, Wang Guangying, a senior legislator, and Qian Zhengying, senior leader in China's top national advisory body, unveiled a copper statue in honor of Professor Lin.

In addition, a gynecological and obstetrical institute named after Lin Qiaozhi was unveiled Friday at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Lin made a great contribution to popular science and to maternal and child health care. She was made a posthumous member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1995.

Lin, a native of Xiamen, Fujian Province, graduated from Peking Union Medical College in 1929 and underwent post-graduate studies at Manchester and London Universities in Britain between 1932 and 1933, and Chicago University in the United States between 1939 and 1940.

(China Daily December 22, 2001)