On the 17th of October, students from TKU’s Departments of Insurance and Statistics undertook community learning by serving as volunteers at the Tamsui International Environmental Arts Festival. Statistics student, Wang Zhen-yang, said that “thanks to TKU’s community service program, I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of this Arts Festival, and have a really rewarding experience”. Insurance student, Liu Ling-jie, on the other hand, was impressed by the priority seating for senior citizens arranged by the Tamsui City Hall.

The event was a play, one item in the extensive line up of artistic events organized for the Arts Festival. It was called “the Legend of Sino-French War”, and depicted the battle that broke out as France attacked China in 1884. The production drew largely on local talent, with 200 Tamsui residents included in the play’s mammoth cast. Among the cast was TKU international student Eric Koert. He explains that he was originally practicing martial arts at a local Kung Fu school, and that the play just happened to require actors with a martial arts background. “In the stage show, I play a Taiwanese person skilled at Kung Fu”, he jokes. As for his take on the overall stage performance: “Brilliant! I had no idea there were going to be fireworks, sky lanterns, and firecrackers, but I was soon engrossed in the sparkling display. It created the feeling of a real battle, and I was really touched by it”.