【Reported by Yi-qun Yang, Tamkang Times】On March 29th the Graduate Institute of China Studies and the New Taiwan Peace Foundation held the 2014 Cross-Strait Youth Leadership Camp. This camp was designed to strengthen their understanding of democracy and social services through an international perspective. This conference also served as a congratulatory message to President Ying Jiu Ma and Vice President Den-yih Wu. 60 outstanding students from well known universities from both in Taiwan and China were selected for this year’s camp that focused on the theme of public participation and cultural exploration. Chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation, Join-sane Lin, Deputy Minister of Mainland Affairs Council, Chu-chia Lin, and Chairman of the New Taiwan Peace Foundation, Wen-cong Deng presented lectures while interacting with the students for follow up questions.

During the camp, in addition to the interactive lecture were also drills and activities related to problem solving for international crisis scenarios. These activities gave the students an opportunity to learn first hand about complex issues while allowing spectators to assess the leadership skills of the gifted youth. Dean of the Graduate Institute of China Studies, Wu-ueh Chang, expressed, “This is an excellent opportunity for the these young leaders to have a chance to explore and interact with a different culture. It opens their mind into new possibilities of resolving various issues.”