President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of September 30 with students that had participated in the 2011 International Youth Ambassador Exchange Program and presented them certificates recognizing their outstanding performance.
In remarks at the gathering, President Ma stated that this marks the third time that he has attended the event. He noted that in the first year, only six groups of students took part, but this year 37 groups participated, so there has been six-fold growth in just three years. He remarked that this proves the popularity of the program among students.
The president stated that the International Youth Ambassador Exchange Program, the International Youth Culture and Study Tour to the ROC (Taiwan), and the Taiwan Scholarship Program are three important cultural exchange activities promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The objective of these projects is to give young people an opportunity to step out into the world and enable the world to come and get to know Taiwan. President Ma stated that the government hopes to promote a program to export Taiwan's higher education. This word "export" does not necessarily mean operating universities overseas, he said, rather it refers to inviting high school graduates from other countries to come to Taiwan and enter university here, engaging in coursework, as well as language and cultural exchange. The president noted that this year over 50,000 foreign students have come to Taiwan to take courses at the university level and that it is expected that this number will rise to 130,000 by 2020.
President Ma furthermore said that the MOFA has carried out the Taiwan Scholarship Program for many years and that the initiative has been quite successful. He noted that quite a few ministers of diplomatic allies are graduates of schools in Taiwan. For instance, the Minister for Agriculture and Livestock from the Solomon Islands is an alumnus of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology. The president remarked that these foreign students do not necessarily take all of their courses in English while here, since many enjoy learning Chinese. For example, the president recalled that while attending a reception marking Africa Day he met a student from Burkina Faso who was attending Shih Chien University and served as the master of ceremonies that day, speaking both in Mandarin and Taiwanese. The president said that this made a deep impression on him. President Ma added that this also proves that the curriculum, language and cultural activities offered by Taiwan's universities are quite attractive to students.
President Ma stressed that interaction among youth is an important link in his policy to promote cultural activities. He said that since taking office in May 2008 he has promoted "viable diplomacy," by which he seeks for Taiwan to play the roles of "peacemaker, provider of humanitarian aid, promoter of cultural ties, creator of new technologies and business opportunities, and standard-bearer of Chinese culture" throughout the world. In particular, we want to exhibit a Chinese culture with Taiwan characteristics, he said, adding that Taiwan has already made its mark in the arts and cultural communities in many countries, and he hopes that we will continue to promote similar exchange activities.
The president also described major advances seen in recent years in Taiwan's youth exchange policies, including inclusion of Taiwan into the United Kingdom's Youth Mobility Scheme that was recently signed between representatives of both governments. Under the plan, starting on January 1 of next year, up to 1,000 young people from Taiwan between the ages of 18 and 30 will each year be allowed to apply for multiple entry visas to the UK to engage in language study, and thereby immerse themselves in British culture. In addition, British youth will also be allowed to come to Taiwan under the scheme. The president explained that this is the seventh country with which the ROC has signed a working holiday agreement. Pacts with New Zealand and Australia were signed before he took office, while agreements with Japan, South Korea, Canada, Germany, and now the UK have been signed during his presidency.
The president expressed his hope that young people will take advantage of these opportunities to go overseas on working holidays, broaden their horizons, and put themselves in the shoes of others when looking at the ROC. This will enable others to better understand us, he said. Young people, the president added, must understand, familiarize themselves with, and embrace the world. This is the most important objective of youth exchange policies, the president remarked.