Paraguayan students from Taiwan-Paraguay Polytechnic University expressed eagerness to promote Taiwan following a ceremony on Friday to celebrate their completion of three semesters of a Taiwan-based study exchange.
The university, a joint venture between Taiwan and Paraguay, is located in the Paraguayan city of Luque.
At a ceremony held at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech), which hosted the students since March last year, about 100 Paraguayan students celebrated the completion of their exchange program, which involved academic courses, business visits and cultural events that gave them opportunities to learn about Taiwanese values and society.
Civil engineering student Sebastian Estigarribia Romeo said that the key point to take home is that “Taiwan can help.”
“Paraguay is also willing to accept that help, and [we should] let other countries know that Taiwan is capable of helping. Taiwan has a lot to teach to the rest of the world,” he said.
Romeo said that he is looking forward to applying what he has learned from Taiwan’s advanced civil engineering when he graduates in Paraguay in six months.
Milko Gutierrez, a computer science and information engineering student, said a large portion of his studies has been based on programming and artificial intelligence.
“I would love to keep researching about artificial intelligence models. I would love to work in that area in Paraguay, but if there are none, I would love to build one myself,” Gutierrez said.
He said he will highly recommend to his home country’s young people to study at the polytechnic and take the opportunities to engage in the exchange program in Taiwan.
Another computer science student, Abel Ferreira Roig Ocampos, who is a wheelchair user, commended the accessibility of Taipei’s infrastructure, which he said makes traveling easy.
“Especially with the MRT and the buses ... [they are] very well prepared for my wheelchair,” he said. “In my country, it was very difficult for me to go out alone, but here I could very easily.”
Taiwan will hopefully continue to give Paraguayan students opportunities to study in the country, Roig said, adding that he hopes the relationship between the two countries remains strong.
“I, for example, am not 100 percent sure about where I will go for my masters, but maybe I could come back here to Taiwan,” Roig said.
At the ceremony, Taiwan Tech president Yen Jia-yush (顏家鈺) commended the Paraguayan students for undertaking the exchange program, and said he believes that the knowledge and experience they gained in Taiwan will provide advantages in their lives.
“I hope that you will find your dream jobs after graduation, contribute to your country, help build up Paraguay, but don’t forget Taiwan and what we have achieved here together,” Yen said. “I wish you a bright future and everlasting friendship between Taiwan and Paraguay.”
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also attended the ceremony and said it was satisfying to see the talented young students thrive in the study exchange.
“Education has been at the root of Taiwan’s national development. By cultivating outstanding talent in science and technology, Taiwan and Paraguay are sowing the seeds of future growth, prosperity and friendship,” Tsai said.
The first entrance exams at the polytechnic in Paraguay were held in March 2019, with 255 potential students competing for 109 spots, the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan said.
With the aim of cultivating engineering and technological talent in Paraguay, the polytechnic admits about 100 new students annually, with freshman and sophomore classes held in the South American country.
The students’ junior year and the first semester of their senior year are completed in Taiwan, with the first batch of students having arrived last year.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
RSS