The Taipei Representative Office in France welcomed Taiwan and French High School Students in a Sister-School Program

The Taipei Representative Office in France welcomed Taiwan and French High School Students in a Sister-School Program

Fifteen students from the Affiliated Senior High School of National Kaohsiung Normal University (ASHS-NKNU), led by principle Mrs. Li Jinyuan, arrived in France on February 3, 2013, to visit their French counterpart, the Lycée Polyvalent Beaupré d'Haubourdin, for a 15-day visit. This trip included the visit to the city hall of Haubourdin and local schools and museums, and workshops on different topics with their French peers, as well as host family experiences.
This visit was the result of the 2012 Summer Training Program for French Teachers of Chinese, organized by the Educational Division of Taipei’s Representative Office in France. At that time eleven teachers for Chinese from France took courses at Taiwan’s National Sun Yat-sen University for two weeks. Ms. Chloé Cattelin, a teacher of Chinese at Haubourdin, was impressed by the vitality, freedom, openness and enthusiasm of Taiwan and its people during this training session; she thus strengthened the link between these two high schools while in Taiwan.
To greet students from both countries in France, on February 6 Ambassador Lu organized a welcoming party where he spoke about the bilateral cooperation between the ROC and France. And a lunch buffet followed. He encouraged Taiwan’s students to develop greater competitiveness and a more global perspective, while wholeheartedly welcoming the French students to experience Taiwan’s culture, cuisine and hospitality.
Dr. Joël Bel Lassen, Chief Inspector of the French Ministry of Education’s Division on the Teaching of Chinese, attended the gathering in person, and praised Taiwan for the high quality of its Chinese language teaching. Principle Colleu expressed his gratitude to the ROC government and his wish to have another exchange opportunity soon. Finally, Principle Li promised that Kaohsiung would offer its warmest hospitality when receiving the students from France in April 2013.