The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation is to advocate for the launch of a “cross-strait university principal forum” to enable more opportunities for educators from both sides of the Taiwan Strait to exchange views on higher education, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday.
Ma made the remarks through a statement as a group of Chinese students in Taiwan for a nine-day exchange program at the invitation of the foundation wrapped up their visit yesterday afternoon.
The student program was just the beginning, Ma said in a statement, adding that he hopes the exchanges can be conducted annually to help Taiwanese and Chinese understand each other more and promote peace and stability in the Strait.
Photo: CNA
The group of 37 lecturers and students from five universities in China arrived on July 15. They were led by former Peking University president Hao Ping (郝平).
The lecturers and students were from Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Wuhan University and Hunan University, the foundation said.
Chao Chun-shan (趙春山), an honorary professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of China Studies, said that many of the students described the Taiwanese they met as friendly, which was contrary to the impression they had received online.
Speaking to the media after an event for the group at the Courtyard by Marriott in Taipei on Saturday, Chao said that cross-strait exchanges are significant as they promote understanding between Taiwanese and Chinese.
“Through mutual visits, people from both sides can see each other’s genuine face, instead of the deliberately promoted, caricatured, purpose-driven and overly political side. Seeing each other’s ordinary daily life is the true purpose of communication,” he said.
If such exchanges continue, there would be peace across the Taiwan Strait, he added.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang
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