Cheuk Lap Li

Choh-Lih (Cheuk Lap) Li, 92, passed away at 2:38pm on December 24, 2016 in Santa Clara, California. He was born on January 4, 1924 in Canton (now Guangzhou), China, and graduated with a B.S. degree in economics from China’s National Central University of Nanking in 1948. He had a difficult life in his early years before he immigrated to the U.S. in 1986. As an American Chinese, he loved China by birth and the United States by choice. His love for his native China was not without sacrifices. In the fall of 1949, he had turned down the offer of admission accompanied by a rare scholarship to the prestigious London School of Economics. He, thereby, surrendered a very desirable advanced academic opportunity, and dedicated himself, instead, to help build a new China, the People’s Republic of China. In 1957, along with many Chinese intellectuals, he was criticized and framed as one of the rightists during “the anti-rightist movement”. For more than two decades (from1957 to 1979) he had to endure harsh labor in the countryside and suffered many social and political humiliations.

In late 1979 Mr. Li was able to move to Hong Kong and worked as a research consultant for Hong Kong TVB Corporation until he and his family immigrated to live in Berkeley, California. Even after having had such twists and turns in a tough life, his devotion to his native land and modern economics never diminished. While he was not able to apply his professional knowledge to help his native land in the beginning, he did his best once the opportunity arrived. He was among the pioneers to introduce western economic thinking and market concepts to readers in China. He authored several books in econometrics, and economics decision making/modeling and forecasting. He also translated books in economic system at a time when China just opened its door to the world in early 1980s.

Mr. Li was fortunate, indeed, to have had a wonderful wife, a loving and courageous soul mate, who had always stood by him throughout the ups and downs in life until she passed away two years ago. He never wavered in his commitment to help his Motherland, to his profession as an economist, and to his family. He was very proud of being a member of the “Li Rong Yin Tang”

(李荣荫堂), the ancestral name for his Li Family lineage as coined by his Father, which had produced many distinguished and productive contributors to our society. He remained very open-minded in his thinking and had an insatiable love of learning. Being fluent in both Chinese & English, he continued to read up on history, literature, philosophy, mathematics and poetry. To be able to spend time reading and doing research in a library were always a great joy. He also enjoyed the challenges of chess, the game of “Go”, the card game of “Bridge” and the game of billiard, which also tested his manual dexterity! To the very end he always displayed loving kindness, patience, and consideration with a perpetual smile. With the very last breath of his great life, he waved warmly to the people in his room and said: “Bye”!

His beloved daughter, Xin Li, who had been taking meticulous, loving care of both of her sick parents for the last four years, survives Mr. Li. Her love and filial devotion had moved everyone. Yes, he had left us, but his spirit will be with us forever.

李卓立于2016年12月24日下午2点38分在圣塔克拉拉市加利福尼亚州去世，享年92岁。李卓立在1924年1月4日生于广州，1948年毕业于南京国家中央大学经济学专业，其早年生活十分坎坷，于1986年移居美国。

作为美籍华人，他始终热爱祖国和以后移居的美国。他对祖国的爱不是没有牺牲的。1949年秋，他放弃了英国伦敦经济学院的奖学金和留学深造的机会，毅然决定留下投入新中国的建设。1957年，与许多其它的中国知识分子一样在反右运动中被划为右派沦为“贱民”，直到1979年平反并撤销右派档案，此时他已任香港TVB公司研究顾问，并与家人一起移居加利福尼亚州伯克利市。即便经历了这样坎坷的大部分人生，他从未改变和放弃对祖国、对事业的热爱，以及对人生理想的追求。在上世纪八十年代初正当中国改革开放，为了向中国读者介绍西方计量经济学思想和方法，他撰写了数本关于计量经济学、经济决策、经济计量模型和预测的书籍，同时还翻译了经济体系的有关著作。他是第一批把西方计量经济学介绍到中国的先行者。

他是一位热爱祖国，事业和家庭的人。他是李荣荫堂世家第二代的最后一个继承人。虽然经过了许多的艰辛痛苦和曲折的大半生，他却始终乐观并坚持自己的理想。他很幸运有一位与他荣辱与共的妻子。那是一位充满爱心和勇敢的女人，与他共同经历了这坎坷起伏的人生直到两年前离世。他为人才济济的李氏家族“李荣荫堂”而骄傲。

李卓立是一个思想开明的学者。他满腹经纶，中文水平很高，英文也很好。不但在经济学上颇有造诣，而且喜爱和钻研历史、文学、哲学、数学和诗歌。他最大的兴趣是在图书馆读书。他也是一个非常乐观和热爱生活的人。他喜欢下围棋和象棋，打桥牌和台球。他是一位和蔼、亲切、耐心和体贴的人，总是微笑待人。甚至直到他最后的临终时刻，他竟出奇地用他人生的最后一点力气挥舞着他的手向陪伴他的护士说“再见”。他心爱的女儿李欣一直在过去的四年里精心照顾她生病的父母。没有一个人不为她的孝心所感动。他虽然走了，但永远活在我们心中。