Taipei, Oct. 1 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian met Wednesday with Katsuhiko Shirai, president of Japan's Waseda University, and expressed the hope that the university's baseball team can hold more friendship tournaments with teams from Taiwan universities.
Chen hailed Shirai as an outstanding educator and praised Waseda University, a prestigious school established more than 120 years ago, for having nurtured talent that has excelled both in Japan and in Taiwan.
He pointed out that in the Japanese Diet alone, more than 80 members are graduates of Waseda University, which has also produced many of Taiwan's political, media and sport high-fliers.
Hsieh Kuo-cheng, who has been hailed as Taiwan's "father of baseball," also graduated from Waseda University, Chen said.
The president said he hopes Shirai can further exchange views with Taiwan's educational sector during his stay.
Shirai for his part talked about higher education, saying that talent cultivation should have no boundaries and should also be a benign competition among universities.
Saying that universities should focus more on the humanities, Shirai also urged students to develop an understanding of Asian history to enlarge their outlook.