President Ma Ying-jeou met with Chen Yu-min, the winner of this year's grand prize in the Lions International Peace Poster Contest, and her family at the Presidential Office on the morning of October 7. The president expressed his pride at the outstanding achievement of Chen, a junior high school student who has brought glory to the nation.
The president remarked that the Lions Clubs International and the United Nations (UN) began holding this competition together starting in 1988. This year, Chen's design was selected from among 350,000 submissions made by children from over 200 countries throughout the world.
The president pointed out that Chen uses watercolors in her poster to show children of different ethnic backgrounds and colors with outstretched hands, welcoming doves into their arms. This painting exhibits "The Power of Peace," which was the contest theme this year, he said. Besides reflecting the founding principle of the UN, this also represents the founding spirit of the ROC, said the president, adding that a society full of arts, culture, and peace can eliminate a climate of violence. This is why children from an early age should be encouraged to develop an interest in the arts, culture, and athletics, which help individuals find their own talents and reach their potential.
Chen Yu-min and her family were accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Xu Hui-dong, the principal of Taichung City Wu-chuan Junior High School, Liu Shu-jing, a teacher there, and Chiang Ta-lung, an international director of Lions Club International, to meet President Ma. Also attending the event was Deputy Education Minister Chen I-hsing.