TKU faculty and students have achieved a fruitful result after holding a dialogue with Oxford University, England via on-line network. The participants gave warm applauses when the image of Oxford University appeared after delaying for more than 10 minutes because of failing connection.

Prof. Mike Rooke of Ruskin College, Oxford University, and Prof. Thomas Pogge of Columbia University, USA have held a dialogue on the theme entitled “the Globalization and the Future of Welfare Nations” with professors and students of the Graduate Institute of Futures Studies, TKU. The dialogue meeting was presided over by Prof. Reinhard Dubel, Director, Center for the Study of Globalization and Cultural Differences, TKU, now on the spot in London and Prof. Chen Kuo-hua, Director of the Graduate Institute of Futures Studies, on the spot in Taipei, Taiwan.

Prof. Mike Rooke has been concentrating his study on the labor theory of political and economic globalization and the theory and practice of materialism advocated by Karl Marx. Prof. Rooke believed that the step of the globalization would be developed in rapid speed through the rapid development and widening employment of scientific technology.

Prof. Thomas Pogge gave his deep concern about the themes of globalization, poverty and human rights.

In addition to professors and students of the Graduate Institute of Futures Studies, the dialogue has also attracted the participation of professors and students of Departments of German, English, French, Chemistry, International Trade, Spanish, and the Graduate Institute of Russian.

“We should give our concern on the event taking place around the corners of the world within the processing course of the globalization,” Assistant Prof. Chih Shuen-chieh of the Graduate Institute of Futures Studies said.

The dialogue also focused on the movement of labor force under the globalization and what the role would be played by the World Trade Organization (WTO) as well as topics related to the global environment and mutual interchange of culture.

This was the first contact between TKU and Oxford through information network. Professors or students who fail to take part in the contact can reach http://www.learning.tku.edu.tw for the colorful dialogue.