First of all, I wish to thank the Advances in Atmospheric Sciences (AAS) Editorial Board for recom-mending the publication of this original letter, summarizing my personal perspective on the reform of AAS, that was distributed during its 19 December 2001 Board meeting. The letter has now been significantly im-proved by the incorporation of many helpful comments and suggestions from extensive email discussions conducted among over 60 foreign participants, including several board members of AAS, as well as from numerous personal communications (see the acknowledgements section).