It was a hot summer morning in the capital city of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Lee Chun-feng (
Lee and Liao were members of the military honor guard waiting for President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen was in Honduras last last month for a summit with leaders of the nation's 12 diplomatic allies in Central America and the Caribbean.
Lee and Liao are the nation's only two military exchange students in Honduras. They have been studying at the Honduras Military Academy for three years and will graduate and return to Taiwan next year.
The Military Academy sends around 10 exchange students to diplomatic allies and foreign countries each year. The academy has sent 12 students to the Honduras Military Academy over the years, including Lee and Liao. They competed with some 20 hopefuls on written and oral tests to participate in the program.
In addition to Honduras, the academy sends cadets to Guatemala, Paraguay and El Salvador. One student studied at the Philippines Military Academy in the 1970s and 83 have studied or are studying in the US at the US Military Academy at West Point, the Virginia Military Institute, The Citadel and Norwich University.
The Naval Academy and Air Force Academy have similar exchange programs focused on sending students to the US.
Among the Honduras Military Academy's 200-odd students only a handful come from abroad. Lee and Liao are the only two Asians, with the others coming from Spanish-speaking countries.
Lee said he spoke very little Spanish when he arrived and had to carry a dictionary with him all the time. The most difficult part of his experience has been the loneliness that comes with having a language barrier, the 22-year-old said.
Both Lee and Liao endured the same hazing that local cadets are subjected to.
The first two years were the worst, he said. He was sneared at, bullied and sometimes hurt by senior classmates and officers. As a freshman, senior classmates forced him to do push-ups on hot tarmac.
Liao's has experienced the same difficulties and said he sometimes misses home. The 21-year-old remembered the first time he saw the school fly the Republic of China flag and play its national anthem during its international week, drawing tears from his eyes. Looking at Lee through the corner of his eyes, Liao said he saw Lee crying too.
Both also said foreign food was a major part of the culture shock.
Liao recalled his first three months at the training center, during which both men experienced a lot of stomach problems from all the refried beans. When they got a chance, they stuffed themselves with fried chicken and were sick for days.
But culture shock doesn't stop there, they said.
Lee said he found Latin Americans to be more individualistic and less careful about managing their money.
He remembered one of his friends had spread a rumor about him after Lee said he did not have money to lend him.
The past two-and-a-half years have been hard, Liao said, adding that he did not regret coming because he has learned a lot. Helping out at the summit was a once-in-a-life-time experience, he said.
Lee and Liao both said it was not easy convincing their parents to let them study in Honduras because of the country's crime rate.
Lee is the youngest among his siblings and the only son pursuing a military career. He joined the military to ease the family's financial difficulties, which fell on his mother's shoulders following his father's death.
Liao said it took some time to persuade his parents to let him participate in the program.
Both students have come home each year during Christmas break, but three weeks of the one-month break from classes are spent in additional military training.
When asked what advice he would give those interested in studying abroad, Liao said they should brace themselves for a rough ride and stand firm.
Liao said he hadn't expected many of the difficulties he has encountered studying abroad, but he has learned a lot.
Lee said students studying in military programs abroad need to be able to deal with pressure and tough it out.
Each time he looks at the Republic of China flag he sewed on the sleeve of his uniform, he feels uplifted and has the courage to face the foreign world again, Lee said.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all