Tien, Chung-kwang
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Republic of China (Taiwan)
April 26, 2024
(As Prepared for Delivery)
Ladies and gentlemen:
Good afternoon!
On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is a great pleasure to welcome you all to the TAA Theme Exchange Workshop.
Over the past decade, more than a million foreign students have come to Taiwan to study. Among them, more than 3,000 have been MOFA Taiwan Scholarship recipients. To build lasting connections among those who have studied, conducted research, or received training in Taiwan, MOFA has been assisting its overseas missions to establish Taiwan Alumni Associations, or TAAs. These associations liaise with these students, scholars and training recipients after they return to their home countries.
Aiming to bolster connections with and between alumni, MOFA launched a centralized TAA Facebook page last November. This is serving as a valuable platform and hub, providing the worldwide community of Taiwan alumni with real-time, Taiwan-related information.
MOFA and its overseas missions are not only engaged in fostering exchanges and connections between Taiwan and alumni across the globe. Drawing particularly on the goodwill of alumni, we also organize events designed to attract potential students, scholars and training recipients who are interested in coming to Taiwan.
This TAA Theme Exchange Workshop is one such event. Today we will focus on communicating with those interested in studying in Taiwan—sharing firsthand knowledge, experiences, and stories from scholarship recipients, including Ambassador Francis, our keynote speaker.
Ambassador Francis earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication with a scholarship from the government of Taiwan. He then studied here for further two years to obtain a master’s degree in global health and development. His six-year academic journey in Taiwan and the connections he has forged between here and his home country make him the ideal candidate to expound upon the theme of this workshop—study life in Taiwan.
Having worked as a journalist, Ambassador Francis has contributed expertise gained in Taiwan to his field of specialization. And during his time as an educator, he spared no effort in promoting educational partnership between our nations. Ambassador Francis has become a role model that every alumnus can look up to in terms of strengthening ties between Taiwan and their home country.
Without further ado, it is an honor to invite our esteemed Taiwan alumnus, His Excellency Donya Francis, to address us all. Please join me in welcoming Ambassador Francis with a round of applause. Thank you!