Taiwanese Student Association at Texas A&M University Voices Support for Taiwan’s Participation in the World Health Organization
Director General Robert Fu-wen Lo of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Houston visited Texas A&M University on May 13, 2021 and met with twenty members of the Taiwanese Student Association and their advisor Prof. Tsai Chia-Che.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cast its shadow across the world, such a universal challenge requires everyone to work together to prevent the virus causing further harm. The Taiwanese students at the university strongly believe that Taiwan can make positive contributions to the World Health Organization and their support for Taiwan’s participation in its governing body, the World Health Assembly. So they made flags and signs with slogans such as Stand for Taiwan and Taiwan Can Help to bring this to other students’ attention.
Director General Lo expressed his appreciation to the students for their advocacy for Taiwan’s being part of the global health network. He encouraged them to remain highly cautious about COVID-19, pay special attention to traffic safety, and keep in close contact with their families at all times. He also called on all the students to concentrate on their academic goals and contribute to Taiwan’s development in the future. Andrea Yang, Director of the Education Division, then spoke about the unfortunate rise of hate crimes seen since the start of the pandemic, and she reminded the students to pay special attention to avoiding possible threats.
Texas A&M University is a public research university in College Station in Texas. It was founded in 1876 and it is ranked 66th in the 2021 Best National University Rankings. It has a huge student body of more than 70,000, the second largest of any university in the United States.
The Taiwanese Student Association of Texas A&M University is an autonomous organization that was established in 1971. Its purpose is to serve the Taiwanese students, enhance friendship with other international students, and raise awareness about Taiwan. There are more than 120 Taiwanese students enrolled at the university every year. They constitute the fourth largest group of international students coming from Asia, after India, China, and South Korea.