President Ma traveled to Kung-Tung Technical Senior High School (KTTS) in Taitung County on the morning of October 26 to take part in a seminar focusing on the passing of vocational skills to the next generation and creating a future for vocational education. In addition to encouraging the students to hone job skills, learn foreign languages, and build character in order to enhance their competitiveness, the president also outlined progress made in the government's efforts to expand transportation links between eastern Taiwan and the rest of the nation.
In remarks, the president first praised the KTTS instructors and students for their strong showing in invention exhibitions throughout the world. He said that the school last year won a total of 12 gold medals, 16 silvers, eight bronzes, and four honorable mentions. This achievement has come despite the fact that the school once faced a shortage of students, he said. The school, he explained, decided to adopt a mentoring system in which graduates could go back to the school and pass along theoretical and practical knowledge in their respective fields. Consequently, the school presently not only is operating at maximum capacity, but also is a top participant in various international competitions, he said.
President Ma stressed that he has long placed heavy emphasis on the development of vocational and technical education here. When he served as Taipei City mayor, he tapped the principal of Taipei Municipal Daan Vocational High School to be the commissioner of Taipei City's Department of Education. As president, last year he achieved adoption of a policy to provide students who attend public, vocational, and private high schools with free tuition. The president stated that the government is working to make Taiwan one of the world's models in the development of technical and vocational education, along with Japan, Germany, and Australia. Furthermore, he said, the ROC is cooperating with the Southeast nations of Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia on an initiative which will bring over 4,000 teachers from those countries to Taiwan over the next 10 years to engage in research. President Ma said that the government hopes to turn Taiwan into an Asia-Pacific center for higher education.
The president also remarked that in this year's National Day address on October 10, he specially mentioned the slow growth in average salaries here. The president cited reasons such as insufficient innovation among domestic industry and a lack of efforts to create brand names as reasons for this. In response, the government will help industry to develop key components and manufacture precision equipment. It will also encourage the service sector to develop innovative models that will help to boost product value. All of these efforts are aimed at moving away from the traditional model in which factories provide contract manufacturing and earn paltry margins, he stated.
President Ma noted that there are three keys to boosting Taiwan's competitiveness: honing job skills, learning foreign languages, and building character. The president said that the emphasis of technical education is "learning by doing." At school, students should not only learn theories, but put what they have learned into practice. Meanwhile, he said, students also must have strong language ability. The president acknowledged that learning a language cannot be accomplished overnight, but requires long training. However, he emphasized the importance of students being able to clearly introduce their entries at international competitions. Lastly, character is an indispensable focus of education, he said. For instance, KTTS founder Father Jakob Hilber, a Swiss priest from the Bethlehem Mission who came to Taitung in 1953 , was rigorously methodical, but also kindhearted and passionate in his management of the school, the president said, adding that his methods are worthy of emulation.
President Ma also encouraged all of the students present to understand the importance of gaining expertise in a specific field. He said that he will always stand on the side of technical and vocational education, working to create an environment that enables vocational students to pursue a better future for themselves.
Among those in attendance at the activity were KTTS chairman Bishop Philip Huang (黃兆明), KTTS principal Lan Jen-fan (藍振芳) , legislator Liao Kuo-tung (廖國棟), Taitung County magistrate Huang Jian-ting (黃健庭), Senior Advisor to the President Yao Eng-Chi (饒穎奇), and Deputy Secretary-General to the President Hsiung Kuang-hua (熊光華).