Shan Sheng is an influential figure in Chinese communities in the UK, France and Spain. Shan was born in Shanghai in 1929. His father, Shan Yuhua, was a famous lawyer in Shanghai. Shan is a dedicated social activist in several overseas Chinese organizations, such as the China-Britain Economy and Trade Association, Overseas Chinese Education Foundation and China-Britain Culture Promotion Association. He is also an overseas consultant for the All-China Federation for Returned Overseas Chinese and guest professor at Nanking University.

In 1998, he donated his family’s mansion to the local primary school to hold extracurricular activities. He donated generously during the 1998 Yangtze River Floods and the 2003 SARS outbreak. His speech at the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention (WCEC) about the British economy was selected in the “World Academic Articles Collection”. He felt most proud when he was invited to the 1997 Hong Kong handover ceremony.

Shan paid close attention to cross-Straits issues. He was an active organizer and participant of international conferences on the issues. He supported cross-Straits reunification and promoted the “one country, two systems” policy. He organized several activities to promote the reunification in Berlin, Washington, Panama and Tokyo. In August 2001, Shan was appointed consultant by the All-China Federation for Returned Overseas Chinese, making laws to oppose Taiwanese independence. “As I was getting old, the thing I hope to see most is cross-Straits reunification,” said Shan.