Formosa Foundation

President Chen Welcomes Student Leaders

Eight representatives of the 2007 Ambassador Program met with Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian in Taipei in the Presidential office on August 3. Since 2005, the President personally meets with the group of young men and women who have just graduated from the Ambassador Program.

The President patiently listened as each Ambassador told of their experience in Washington D.C., and the results of their advocacy for Taiwan. The 2007 class met with a total of 131 members of Congress from 31 states, including 100 House and 31 Senate members. During their week in Washington D.C., they helped sign-up enough co-sponsors to the House Concurrent Resolution 136, so that it could be presented in the House for discussion and vote. HCR 136 called for lifting all restrictions on high level visits to the United States by Taiwanese elected officials. The resolution was subsequently passed in the House on July 30, 2007.

Pokuan Wu, a PhD student from National Taiwan University and research analyst at the Taiwan WTO Centre of the Chung-Hua Institute for Economic Research, summarized the progress of a potential U.S.-Taiwan free trade agreement. Although bilateral trade talks have yet to begun, the Ambassadors met several members in Congress who are very supportive of a potential FTA, and who have agreed to initiate in the future resolutions calling for trade talks to begin.

While in Washington, the Ambassadors met quite a few congressional staff who have visited Taiwan and as a result are very sympathetic towards Taiwan. The Ambassadors applaud the programs by the foreign ministry which promote better understanding of Taiwan.

The President expressed appreciation to the Ambassadors for their accomplishments in grassroots diplomacy. Taiwan faces great difficulty in getting international recognition. Of the limited number of international organizations that allows Taiwan’s participation, Taiwan is often forced to make concessions forgoing its formal legal name and limited from displaying its national flag. In the 2004 Olympics, for example, Taiwanese were jubilant when two Taiwanese athletes won two gold medals. Unfortunately, that sense of pride was doused at the awards ceremony, when they could not play Taiwan’s national anthem nor raise Taiwan’s flag.

Chen told the group that “Taiwan’s future lies in the hands of every Taiwanese and those who love democracy.”  Despite efforts by China to isolate Taiwan, President Chen encouraged the Ambassadors to keep challenging themselves to engage in more grassroots diplomacy on Taiwan’s behalf.

“My own political consciousness has been awakened by the Ambassador Program experience,” said Grace Kuo, a senior at National Taiwan University studying literature and foreign languages. “I feel that I have the obligation to educate my fellow Taiwanese people about what I’ve learned.”

From left: Enoch Chang, Pokuan Wu, Daniel Koo, Melissa Chuang, Grace Kuo, Lucy Chen, President Chen Shui-bian, Li-Pei Wu, Ling-Jen Lee, Echo Lin, Angela Ma, Justine Chen, Annie Chen, Jason Tsai.