Senior and vocational high-school students from across the nation yesterday joined President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at an annual forum in Taipei discussing topics ranging from student opportunities to the nation’s international presence.
The theme of this year’s event, hosted since 2016 by the Chinese-language Business Today, was “One With the World.”
In her opening remarks, Tsai outlined the success of the nation’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Photo: CNA
By planning ahead, and with the cooperation of the public and the use of technology, Taiwan has attracted the attention of many people worldwide, she said.
The nation has not only managed to handle the domestic situation well, but was also able to offer assistance to other nations in need, she said, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated to the world that “Taiwan can help” and “Taiwan is helping.”
More opportunities would arise for the nation to show its capability and willingness to stand with the world, Tsai added.
She urged students to imagine themselves as decisionmakers, and consider how they would respond to various problems.
At the forum, groups of students representing different high schools were invited to present their ideas and pose questions to the president.
During their presentation, three students from Myanmar studying at New Taipei City’s Juang Jing Vocational High School said that they hoped to work in Taiwan after completing their studies under the government’s “three plus four” Vocational Education Program for Overseas Compatriot Students.
They asked Tsai whether overseas compatriot students like themselves would be able to apply for permanent residency and entrepreneurship funds that are made available to young Taiwanese.
Praising the students’ courage in overcoming language and cultural barriers to study in Taiwan, Tsai said that a draft economic immigration act pending review by the Legislative Yuan would give foreign students the opportunity to stay in the nation.
She told the students that as long as they are in Taiwan, the government would offer them the same support it gives local students.
Students from Taipei American School (TAS) drew from their school’s experience in participating in international competitions, such as the FIRST Robotics Competition, and encouraged local schools to do the same.
“It is clear that we are … strong in our ability, but if we are able to invest more resources into allowing more opportunity for younger students to attend conferences or festivals such as these, then we can really introduce the idea of becoming global citizens,” TAS student Julianne Vaughan said.
Students from Taichung’s Cingshuei Senior High School raised concerns about encroachment on the nation’s sovereignty, citing as an example the latest territorial dispute with Japan over the Diaoyutais (釣魚台).
Tsai said that while Taiwan is restricted by historical factors and realities, Taiwanese must speak with one voice when they express to the world their values, views and determination.
Educational inequality, bilingual education and student representation at school affairs meetings were among the other topics discussed at the forum.
Organizers said that 56 schools signed up to participate in the forum this year, and 30 student representatives from 10 schools were invited to attend.
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported
RSS