The International and Cross-Strait Affairs Office held a flag presentation ceremony on June 26th for students who are going abroad and for the International Youth Ambassadors Delegation, inviting Hu Chenghao, Deputy Director of the West Asia and Africa Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lu Yunbin, Section Chief in the International and Cross-Strait Education Division’s Exchange Reception Section at the Ministry of Education, Jason Reeve, Director of the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei, and Mario Conzález Aloso, Commissioner of Education at the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Taipei to speak at the event. Teng Yu-Fei, commissioner at the Commercial Office of Peru in Taipei, and Yeh Tekuei, Secretary of the Minister at the Latin American and Caribbean Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were also present at the event, with a total of 441 students who are realizing their dreams of studying abroad. President Flora Chia-I Chang, Vice President of International Affairs Tai Wan-chin, Dean of the College of Foreign Languages Wu Hsi-the, College of Business Administration Dean Chiu Jian-lang, Lanyang Campus College of Global Entrepreneurial Development Dean Liu Ai-hua and Dean of International and Cross-Strait Affairs Dr. Pei Wha Chi Lee were also in attendance.

In her opening remarks, President Chang stated clearly that TKU is the leading university for junior-year students promoting internationalization as exchange students. She also pointed out that TKU has close and frequent exchanges with 159 sister schools, with students seeking advanced studies primarily in the US and Japan but in other countries as well. This year students are going to sixty sister schools. “I have visited approximately 80% of these schools,” said President Chang. She lauded the exchange students, wishing them a bountiful and happy year of study abroad. Then department heads and representatives from six Tamshui campus departments and four Lanyang campus departments received the school flag from President Chang. This year two teachers and twelve students were selected for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ International Youth Ambassadors Exchange Mission, which be going to Mexico and Peru. The students were al filled with excitement as they posed for a picture with President Chang.

Hu Chenghao advised students while abroad to put the emergency service hotline (0800-095-095) to good use in the event they seek the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOF). He also encouraged students to attend the MOF special Examination the following day. Lu Yunbin warned that if one’s learning experience lacks discourse and exchanges with friends, there is a danger that the student may become ignorant and ill-informed (獨學而無友，則孤陋而寡聞 [from classical Chinese literature]) as a way of encouraging students leaving Taiwan to broaden their horizons.

Returning student Zou Chieh-min shared her experiences as an exchange student, saying that prior to leaving Taiwan, an exchange student should first check out any organizations there might be for international students at the school he or she plans to study at. In addition, she said, take note of the etiquette involved when interacting with host families in that country as a way of more quickly blending in there. She also passed along some study methods like borrowing pens from classmates and talking with professors when encountering barriers to learning. In addition to studying, she encouraged younger students to use vacation times to get away from the university for the opportunity to gain eye-opening experiences. Third-year Japanese language student Su Yu-wen will soon be an exchange student at Doshisha University in Japan, and greeted everyone fluent Japanese, comparing this opportunity to study abroad with what a professor said during her second year of school: “Learning a language, you need courage to speak out.” Wang Chih-hao, a second-year masters student in Western languages, will represent Taiwan for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while conducting a cultural exchange in Peru as a member of the International Youth Ambassadors Mission. He related in a mood of high spirits, “I want to help Taiwan become international!” At the conclusion of the ceremony, Tai Wan-chin announced that an essay competition will be held in June of next year, at which time students can elaborate on their experiences abroad in great detail.