Name of Referee: XXX

Organization: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Position: Director of the Editing Department of Finance & Trade Economics, Institute of Finance and Trade Economics; Deputy Director of Finance Research Center

How long have you known the applicant: For about 2 year since 2001

When did you last have regular contact with the applicant: Frequent contact and regular meetings

Describe the capacity in which you know the applicant.

As the highest institute of academic research, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is known for its cutting-edge research in the field of economics. As supervisor of doctoral and Master’s programs in finance and economics, I have quite deep understanding of Miss Liu who is currently a student in on a Master’s program (from 2002 to 2004) in Monetary Banking at our Academy. I got to know her when I delivered the course Monetary Banking to her class in 2001 and I made further acquaintance with her when I became her supervisor. Miss Liu is undertaking this part-time academic program while doing her full-time job China National Council for Social Security Fund. The fact that she is making double efforts is truly impressive.

Is the applicant still with your organization? Yes/No. If not, when did he/she leave?

Yes, the applicant is still working on her program. If it were not for SARS, she should complete her program in October 2003 and obtain her degree. Now the program has to be extended into the year 2004.

Please detail any personal circumstances which might affect the applicant’s performance on an intensive and demanding program

As far as academic work is concerned, Miss Liu should have no personal circumstances that might pose a hindrance to her future program in the UK. She is eager to learn advanced financial theories and to develop useful experiences in her proposed areas of study. In addition, receiving professional trainings in the UK will significantly enhance her career development at the China National Council for Social Security Fund.

Describe the applicant’s strengths and weaknesses.

As her supervisor, I found Miss Liu much more outstanding than most of her peers. As the nature of her current employment requires her solve a lot of new problems, she is almost desperate for acquiring new knowledge. Such a thirst for knowledge prompts her to participate in all the teaching activities, and behave very actively in group discussions. Her strong ability to analyze and to solve problems has left deep impressions on me and on other teachers. As she has relatively rich work experience, Miss Liu exhibits quite strong ability to apply knowledge to the solution of practical problems. In doing her coursework, she has her own efficient learning strategies. She is wide-ranged in her knowledge and is adept at synthesizing the strengths of various schools of thought to form her own views and solutions. She is quick-minded, rigorous in logical reasoning and very expressive and eloquent.

Her weaknesses are two-folded. Despite her relatively rich work experience, she has not done important research and has not published formal research papers. She needs to improve her research ability and produce some important research findings. Second, if she is to develop herself into a qualified policy maker and administrator, she must develop really deep understanding of Western financial systems, financial policies, economic and financial theories and be able to apply them to her future work in China.

Please comment on any task, project or other situation in which the applicant has been involved and which may demonstrate his or her potential as a manager or responsible team member.

In 2002, I organized a research team consisting of 3 Master’s students and 2 doctoral students under my leadership. The team worked on the similarities and differences in the operations of social security fund between China and Western countries. Being a Master’s student, Miss Liu collaborated fully with the doctoral students by collecting necessary data, consulting technical literature, translating English materials into Chinese, and presenting regular reports to me. As a matter of fact, she and another team member became very good friends. Miss Liu has great potential for being a n effective manager or leader, but she has proved that she can also be a responsible team member.