Students read anti-war poetry, danced and performed choral music at the Taipei European School (TES) yesterday, as the school and the European community in Taiwan joined the annual worldwide celebration of Europe Day.
About 20 representatives from European and Taiwanese political and business communities, as well as TES students and teachers, attended the ceremony to commemorate 60 years since the end of World War II in Europe, followed by the creation of the forerunner organization to the EU 55 years ago.
Addressing the ceremony, Vice Premier Wu Rong-i (吳榮義) praised the EU for promoting the advance of a peaceful, integrated human community, and complimented TES' efforts to bring the European community in Taiwan together.
PHOTO: CHIEN RONG-FENG, TAIPEI TIMES
"TES creates a wonderful educational environment for our European community. We [the Taiwanese government] also appreciate the school's contribution in strengthening cultural and economic ties by providing a good educational base here," Wu said.
Expressing his delight in hosting the annual Europe Day and seeing the school grow over the years, TES head John Nixon shared the school's future plans.
"TES represents European culture within the scope of Taiwan. With the launch of our new primary campus in Shilin District, TES will continue to make more connections with local schools and attract more European businesses to come here by providing their children with better education in Taiwan," Nixon told the Taipei Times.
Besides speeches delivered by guests and European diplomatic representatives on the history of Europe Day and the EU's efforts to abolish national and cultural barriers by peaceful means, yesterday's event was filled with dancing, singing, and poetry-reading under the theme of peace.
Between speeches, students and guests sat and enjoyed performances by TES students.
In addition to anti-war songs, such as Madame Jeanette, a song about a woman who waits for her husband to come back from war, and Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, the audience was treated to a poetry-reading performance, including the Chinese poem Over the Border read by Annika Buchholz from the German Section and the French poem Barbara by French section students. Both drew big applause from the crowd.
The celebration was brought to a successful close with the performance of the EU's anthem Ode to Joy by the school's primary choir.
The EU began on May 9, 1950, with the announcement of the Schumann Declaration by then-French foreign minister Robert Schumann, calling on European countries -- France and Germany in particular -- to pool their capabilities in producing the major strategic resources -- coal and steel.
The call was received favorably and in the following year, with the co-operation of France and Germany, the European Coal and Steel Community was established -- the precursor of today's EU.
In order to commemorate this impressive and valuable achievement, European leaders decided during a 1985 summit in Milan to name May 9 as Europe Day.
TES offers education for about 1,000 students aged 3 to 18. People from 55 different nationalities attend.
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