HONG KONG — In January the Board of the Hong Kong Bible Society (HKBS) announced the appointment of the Rev Dr Lee Chee Kong as the Society’s General Secretary, with effect from February 1. Until taking up his new post, Dr Lee was the minister of the Chinese Rhenish Church in Hong Kong. A former chairman of the Hong Kong Chinese Churches Union, he has been actively involved in the Christian Church in Hong Kong. He has had a strong relationship with the Hong Kong Bible Society and with the China Christian Council (CCC). An arts graduate of Taiwan National Chung Hsing University, he took a Bachelor of Divinity degree at the Hong Kong Lutheran Seminary. His MA and PhD in Modern Chinese History were awarded by the Hong Kong Chu Hoi College. Kua Wee Seng, Co-ordinator of UBS Asia Opportunity, said, “We rejoice with HKBS in the appointment of such an experienced and well-respected church leader as General Secretary.” He recorded his appreciation of the Rev Lincoln Leung for serving the Society as its Voluntary General Secretary “after his retirement from his pastoral ministry and despite his recovery from heart surgery.” (WR 358/IB1 - 03.01)

GERMANY — Ekkehard Runge, Director of the Evangelische Haupt-Bibelgesellschaft in Berlin, retired at the end of January. Prior to Germany’s reunification, the Evangelische Haupt-Bibelgesellschaft served as the national Bible Society of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), and Mr Runge was its General Secretary. In this capacity he paid several visits to western Bible Societies, endearing himself and his work to many Bible Society supporters. A service marking both the retirement of Mr Runge and the appointment of his successor, Pastor Friedrich Delius, was held in Berlin Cathedral on January 28. (WR 358/IB2 - 03.01)

AUSTRALIA — Tom Treseder retired in February after 18 years’ service with the Bible Society in Australia (BSA) New South Wales (NSW), who held a dinner in his honour. Paying tribute to Mr Treseder, the BSA said, “His encouraging of other Bible Societies and sharing of resources has been appreciated around the world, and many projects have been taken up in other Bible Societies which commenced in NSW: Bike for Bibles, Celebration of Word and Song, Bible a Month Partners, monthly newsletters and personalised mailings to donors are all part of the mix of fundraising ideas and challenges which Tom has brought to the world.” Praising him as an ardent supporter and fundraiser for the initiatives UBS has taken in China since 1996, David Thorne, UBS Indo-Pacific Regional Secretary, added that he would remember him for “his passion to reach people in every part of the world” with the Good News. “I am thrilled that on the eve of Tom’s retirement the first production models of MegaVoice [the spoken Word of God in a pocket-sized digital device] are coming off the assembly line,” he added. “It has been Tom’s vision for more than 10 years for lightweight microchip technology to be applied to making God’s Word available to people in remote rural communities who cannot read. Due to Tom’s perseverance, that vision is about to become a reality.” (WR 358/IB3 - 03.01)

EL SALVADOR — In November the Rev Raúl Durón retired after 34 years of service as General Secretary of the Bible Society of El Salvador. Paying tribute to him, the Rev Fergus Macdonald, UBS General Secretary said, “We salute our brother Raúl for a splendid ministry in which he led the Bible Society through the difficult years of civil war and brought it into a self-supporting position. We pray that he may enjoy God’s blessing in his retirement.” Mr Durón has been succeeded by his son, Pablo Gonzalez. Mr Gonzalez is a long-time member of staff of the Bible Society of El Salvador and is widely recognised as a committed Christian leader. (WR 358/IB4 - 03.01)