President Ma Ying-jeou met with professor emeritus of Chinese history at Eastern Michigan University Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur (羅久華) on the afternoon of May 24. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a cordial welcome to Professor Emeritus Lo Upshur and applauded her generous move to provide scholarships to encourage students from Taiwan to visit the United States and engage in advanced studies there.
In remarks, President Ma stated that Professor Emeritus Lo Upshur's father Lo Chia-lun (羅家倫) was an important educator in modern China and was a pioneer in the cultural movement. His book A New Outlook on Life (新人生觀) had a wide-ranging impact on future generations, the president said. President Ma said that he and his father Ma Ho-ling (馬鶴凌) both read this book and personally recommended it to their children to read. The president briefly alluded to the philosophy advocated in the book, pointing out in particular the chapter on "The Demeanor of an Athlete," which calls for the return to the standards of physical beauty prior to the Tang Dynasty. The president also commented on the chapter on "Weakness is Sin, Strength Without Brutishness is Beauty," in which Lo wrote that a strong person has three basic characteristics, namely the most savage body, the most civilized mind, and an unconquerable spirit. No matter how many generations may come and go, the president said, this will always be universally applicable.
President Ma furthermore remarked that Professor Emeritus Lo Upshur has fulfilled the Confucian tenet which holds that filial children carry forward. President Ma pointed out that Professor Emeritus Lo Upshur played an instrumental role in the publishing of An Annotated Addendum to the Complete Works of Mr. Lo Chia-lun, (羅家倫先生文存補遺) which points to the longing and reverence that she has for her father. In addition, the president pointed out that Professor Emeritus Lo Upshur and her mother Zhang Weizhen (張維楨) are both graduates of the University of Michigan and both also won the Barbour Scholarship. This once again proves the long and distinguished history of the Lo family in the field of education, the president said. Meanwhile, he also noted that Eastern Michigan University and the ROC have maintained longstanding cooperation in education.
President Ma stated that 30 years ago there were about 50,000 students from Taiwan who were studying in the United States, but that number today has dropped to less than 30,000. He said that some students have decided to pursue their studies elsewhere, such as the UK or Australia. Regardless, the ROC still has much to learn from the United States in the fields of science and technology and the humanities, he stated. Professor Emeritus Lo Upshur has long provided financial assistance to enable students from Taiwan to pursue advanced studies in the United States, he said. In addition, last year she generously donated US$1 million in the names of her parents to the University of Michigan to serve as scholarship funds for students from Taiwan seeking to engage in advanced studies. On this visit to Taiwan, he said, she has been actively speaking with National Chengchi University and National Central University with regard to donating US$500,000 to each school for scholarships. President Ma said this highlights the tremendously valuable legacy that Mr. Lo Chia-lun has left to future generations, and is thus worthy of enormous praise. Moreover, this gesture will do much to enhance education and the development of students here, the president added.
Professor Emeritus Lo Upshur and Dr. Janet A. Weiss, Dean of the Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan, were accompanied to the Presidential Office in the afternoon by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Gary Song-Huann Lin (林松煥) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Advisor Philip Y. M. Yang (楊永明).