Vice President Vincent C. Siew on the morning of June 27 at the Presidential Building met with University of Maryland President Dr. C. D. Mote. In addition to extending a warm welcome to Dr. Mote on his visit to Taiwan, Vice President Siew also thanked Dr. Mote for his many contributions to promoting academic interaction between Taiwan and his school.
The vice president praised the University of Maryland for its outstanding academic reputation. In addition to producing a large number of outstanding researchers and academics in a wide range of fields, the university also maintains close contact with many universities in Taiwan as well as the Academia Sinica. Vice President Siew also took advantage of the opportunity to thank the University of Maryland and Dr. Mote for caring for Taiwan's students and academics presently at the University of Maryland.
Vice President Siew said that President Ma Ying-jeou engaged in research work at the University of Maryland for nearly one year. The vice president said that he also made a brief visit to the university's Institute for Global Chinese Affairs that was founded by Dr. Chuan Sheng Liu and Dr. James R. Lilley. Vice President Siew said that the expansive and beautiful university campus, along with the school's outstanding academic accomplishments left a deep impression on him. He also said that quite a few of the Cabinet members in the new government come from the academic sector. Sitting in on the meeting are Minister Without Portfolio Ovid Tseng and Minister Without Portfolio Chu Yun-peng, both of whom have served as university presidents and now are involving themselves in the political arena with the hope of making more contributions and providing more service to society, the vice president said.
Dr. Mote expressed his appreciation to Vice President Siew for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with him. He also extended his congratulations to President Ma and Vice President Siew for leading the new government. Dr. Mote said that the University of Maryland and the Taiwan academic community and students maintain extremely close interaction. He said that he previously visited Taiwan in 1990 and he mentioned that his parents were engaged in clinical medical research in Taiwan in the 1970s. Dr. Mote said he hopes in the future the University of Maryland and Taiwan are able to form even closer contacts in the realm of academics.
Dr. Mote led a delegation from the university to Taiwan, including Dr. Chuan Sheng Liu, Dr. Saul Sosnowski, Dr. Cheng-I Wei, and Dr. Raymond Miller. The guests were accompanied in the morning to the Presidential Building by Ministers Without Portfolio Ovid Tseng and Chu Yun-peng, and Deputy Education Minister Dr. Lu Mu-lin.