Taiwan Day is an annual event at the University of Leeds. This year’s Taiwan Day was held on March 2, 2017, in the Leeds University Union building on campus. It was jointly organised by the Student Union and the International Office of the University of Leeds, with support from the Education Division of the Taipei Representative Office in the UK which provided many promotional materials about Taiwan to display. The university’s Taiwanese Society looked after all the practical details, setting up an exhibition and activity booths to showcase Taiwanese culture and education.

Taiwan Day introduces many different aspects of traditional Taiwanese and Chinese culture, from long-established art forms, to modern Taiwanese street culture, and everyday popular snacks. Students were able to observe and learn the skills of calligraphy and paper-cutting, as well as sampling pineapple cakes and bubble tea. The occasion was a great success with over 500 people passing through the venue.

Mr Ouyang, Director of the Education Division at the Taipei Representative Office in the UK, attended. He met with a number of students from the East Asian Studies department during the course of the day and answered their questions related to studying in Taiwan and Ministry of Education scholarships.

In addition to participating in Taiwan Day, Mr Ouyang met with key people in the International Office and East Asian Studies Department to discuss the Ministry of Education’s various programmes and funding opportunities for study and research in Taiwan, and then enjoyed a lunch together with Taiwanese overseas students at the University of Leeds studying on Taiwanese government scholarships.

Photo: Students at the University of Leeds attempt traditional paper-cutting on Taiwan Day.