Republic of China (R.O.C., Taiwan) -EU Exchanges Reactivated European Union (EU) Officials Exploring R.O.C., Taiwan
In order to deepen the EU's understanding of R.O.C., Taiwan's politics, economy, and culture, and to strengthen bilateral relations, in the aftermath of the epidemic the Ministry of Education (MOE) resumed inviting a total of 18 officials from the European Commission and member states to R.O.C., Taiwan for the Taiwan Study Seminar and the Mandarin in Training Program.
Since 2007, the Taiwan Study Seminar for EU Officials Program has been in operation for more than 16 years, with a three-year hiatus from 2019 to 2022 due to the epidemic, but was resumed this year as epidemic regulations and border controls were lifted. The Program is divided into two main sections, the Political and Economic Research Section and the Mandarin in Training Program Section, and is organized by the National Cheng Chi University and Fu Jen Catholic University respectively. The Political and Economic Research Section ran for one week from August 14th to 19th, with professors from various fields introducing R.O.C., Taiwan's politics, economics, society, education, and culture through seminars, while the Mandarin in Training Program Section ran from August 14th to 23rd, with intensive language and culture courses designed for EU officials who already have a basic knowledge of the Mandarin language. The 18 officials who came to R.O.C., Taiwan are came from 11 EU member states, including Hungary, Romania, Belgium, Poland, Austria, Germany, Lithuania, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, and France, and their fields covered economics and trade, diplomacy, culture and education, science and technology, climate and environment, and health.
In order to welcome the delegation of EU officials, the Political Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Mon-Chi Lio, hosted a luncheon on August 16th. In his speech, Dr. Lio said that the educational exchange and cooperation between R.O.C., Taiwan and EU have achieved great results, and the number of students from EU countries who have come to R.O.C., Taiwan in the past five years has reached 25,230, while the number of students from R.O.C., Taiwan who have gone to study in the EU countries has also reached 30,930. In addition, R.O.C., Taiwan's universities have signed 2,911 academic exchange agreements with universities in the EU; R.O.C., Taiwan has also cooperated with the EU on the MOE's EU Scholarships and has established the Erasmus+ Programme as a national stronghold. Dr. Lio also emphasized that both R.O.C., Taiwan and the EU have rich cultural assets and share the values of freedom and democracy, and that through the continuous and deepening exchanges and cooperation between R.O.C., Taiwan and the EU, it is expected that the two sides will stimulate creativity and increase achievements in various fields in the future.
In addition to cultural and educational exchanges, the MOE invited EU officials to visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Bureau of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO), and the European Union Centre in Taiwan, so that the ministries can have further official exchanges with the European Commission, and keep abreast of the latest developments in various fields in the EU. The MOE expects this program to promote a better understanding of R.O.C., Taiwan among EU officials, increase opportunities for exchanges and cooperation, and expand our political, economic, cultural, and educational relations with the EU, thereby enhancing our country's international status.
