Li Keqiang meets with top sinologist Jao Tsung-i ahead of major exhibition celebrating academic's achievements

Premier Li Keqiang asked a Hong Kong-based sinologist to continue contributing to cultural exchanges between the city and the mainland as he met the 98-year-old in Beijing yesterday, ahead of the launch of a major exhibition celebrating his achievements.

In the half-hour meeting with Professor Jao Tsung-i at Zhongnanhai, the residential compound of state leaders, Li expressed admiration for Jao's work and wished him longevity.

"I congratulate you for your enormous achievements in academia and in the arts," Li said. "Your work … has contributed greatly to the revival of Chinese culture."

Jao, a member of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History, is well-known for his excellence in the humanities, from Indian Sanskrit to the art of the Dunhuang grottoes. He was born in Guangdong and arrived in Hong Kong in 1949.

A source close to the master earlier told the Post that he caught a cold recently and flew to the capital with a doctor.

He was brought into Zhongnanhai in a wheelchair and was assisted by Professor Lee Chack-fan - former pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Hong Kong - and another man. His two daughters were also there.