Over 70 fourth graders from the Kuting Elementary School visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday for a first-hand lesson on Taiwan's foreign relations.
Accompanied by their teachers and interested parents, the children were welcomed to the ministry by its spokeswoman, Katharine Chang (
Hosting a story-telling session, Chang stepped out of her formal role to chat with the students in a casual fashion and asked them questions about Taiwan's diplomatic ties.
While the roomful of students gave a quick answer to Chang's question on the total number of Taiwan's allies -- 28 -- one little boy was a bit off when he singled out "Egypt" as one of the nation's allies.
A patient Chang told the boy that Egypt doesn't have formal ties with Taiwan.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (
The questions ranged from the popular issue of the World Cup as well as destinations of President Chen Shui-bian's (
Chien even asked the students if they knew where Hello Kitty came from, triggering giggles from around the room.
The Kuting Elementary School group is the first of its kind to take a field trip to the ministry, an idea proposed by the school itself.
Students gave their diplomatic outing rave reviews.
"It's fun to be here. This is a special place where you can learn a bit about many unfamiliar countries," said 10-year-old Ben Tsao (
Tsao, who spent six months studying in the US, had earlier showed off his English-language ability for ministry officials, prompting compliments from Chang.
Many of the students, mostly 10-year-olds, also had a chance to shine as they shared their experiences of traveling to other countries.
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