Cheng made the remarks at an address delivered at the annual meeting of the Chinese Academic Association in Eastern U.S. yesterday.

As a veteran journalist and venerable journalism educator, Cheng received a life-time achievement award for his outstanding and unselfish contributions from the association at the gathering in New York.

"Thought is the antiseptic of the human soul," while communications, education and culture should all have the philosophical goal to seek the truth and elevate the spirit of mankind to pursue true happiness and well-being, he said in the speech.

Former speakers invited to address the annual academic meeting included President Ma Ying-jeou, former finance minister Lin Chuan, and former legislator Shen Fu-hsiung.

After his graduation from the National Chengchi University, Cheng helped establish the comprehensive educational system in the field of communications and journalism, including serving as director of the department dean of Mass Communications for 17 years.

Acclaimed as a "journalism educator in the Chinese community," Cheng has crisscrossed the three areas of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China to lecture at leading higher-learning educations in the most recent decade.

He was retained as visiting professors by more than a dozen universities in China, including Chiao Tung University in Shanghai, Beijing Normal University, Hunan University, and Fujian Normal University.

The Zhejiang University, a top university in eastern China, held a special symposium last year for an in-depth discussion on the ideals and contributions of Prof. Cheng over a span of four decades.

In addition to the classic textbooks on journalism and mass communications, Cheng has published more than 40 books that have profound influence on the education and cultivation of professional journalists in Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong.