Koo joins DPP's 'Walk Against the Wind'
　

WALK THE WALK: The 82-year-old Koo, former DPP chairman Yu Shyi-kun, Chthonic frontman Freddy Lim and others took part in the event to back the DPP candidate

STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, Feb 12, 2008, Page 3
　

Former senior presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) put on his walking shoes in Kaohsiung City yesterday as he took part in a walk organized by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) camp.

Dubbed "The Walk Against the Wind," the march -- spanning 500km from the southern tip of the nation to its northernmost point -- started on Saturday and is expected to reach Taipei City, its final destination, on Feb. 28.

Event leader Teng Li-chun (鄧麗君), chairwoman of the National Youth Commission, also heads Hsieh's youth division.

Teng said the walk -- which will be entirely done by foot -- was a demonstration of the love Taiwanese have for their country.

Cable TV showed the 82-year-old Koo, a staunch proponent of Taiwanese independence, walking briskly among young supporters.

Koo attributed his motivation to participate in the walk to the zeal he saw in youths.

He said he had joined the walk to show his resolve to protect Taiwan from falling into the wrong hands.

"The people must understand the importance of checks and balances in a democratic system. Taiwanese must become their own leader and decide their own future," he said.

He also urged voters not to vote for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in the presidential election next month.

Former DPP chairman Yu Shyi-kun also joined the event yesterday, saying he would complete the entire walk.

Freddy Lim (林昶佐), the lead singer from the homegrown heavy metal rock band Chthonic, also joined the walk.

International students in Taiwan at an all-time high
　

By Ko Shu-ling
STAFF REPORTER
Tuesday, Feb 12, 2008, Page 3

"You have to make sure you befriend as many people as you can and not just hang around with the people of your own country."－Jay Dring, student

PHOTO: KO SHU-LING, TAIPEI TIMES

The number of international students in Taiwan has increased significantly in recent years, mostly because of a worldwide increase in Mandarin education and efforts by the Ministry of Education to attract students to Taiwan.

Statistics show that the number of foreign students in Taiwan hit a record-high 17,742 last year, 3,263 more than the previous year.

Of those, 5,259 people from 117 countries were pursuing degrees here. Students from Vietnam comprised the largest group, followed by those from Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and the US.

Jennie Wu (吳亞君), chief of the Research Division at the ministry's Bureau of International Cultural and Educational Relations, attributed the hike to the global thirst for Mandarin learning.

The reasons international students choose Taiwan over China vary from student to student, she said, but many come here because Taiwan is a freer society, people are friendlier and the teaching is more flexible.

A large number of international students have enrolled at National Taiwan University, National Chengchi University, National Taiwan Normal University and Ming Chuan University, she said.

Ayrat Sabirian is one of them. The 19-year-old Russian is a junior at Ming Chuan University's International College. He said that before arriving in Taiwan, government bureaucracy and red tape had been troublesome. Luckily for him, his father has a business partner in Taiwan who took care of the matter for him. The person, a Taiwanese, also serves as his guarantor.

The reason he chose Taiwan over China was political, Sabirian said.

"I appreciate Taiwan's full democracy and human rights," he said. "I never thought of going to China. For me, it is more of a place to visit."

Sabirian's older sister, who came before him and studied at the same college, also played a role in his decision, he said. She is pursuing a master's degree at Yuan Ze University in Jhongli (中壢) in Taoyuan County.

The Moscow native said he gets by with his self-taught Mandarin and has had no problems making friends. Had he more time, he said, he would have liked to enroll in a language training program.

Sabirian works part-time for a company that imports wine from Ukraine. He said he hoped his experience would help him become a better businessman.

With increasing global interest in China, Taiwan has become a center for Mandarin language education, said Ellen Chen (陳亦蘭), dean of the International College at Ming Chuan University.

"They come here to prepare themselves for working with the Chinese or in China," she said.

The surge in international students is also attributed to scholarship incentives provided by the Ministry of Education and extensive educational fairs organized to recruit students, she said.

Ming Chuan's International College boasts the second-largest population of international students in the country. Most of them are in the undergraduate program, Chen said.

In addition to pursuing degrees, statistics show that about 2,300 exchange students from 70 countries are studying in Taiwan, mostly from Japan, South Korea, the US, Germany and France.

As of December, 10,177 foreign students were enrolled at the 26 Mandarin language learning centers in Taiwan.

These students come mostly from Japan, the US, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam.

Tess Fang (方淑華), division chief of the Mandarin Training Center at National Taiwan Normal University, said that student enrollment at the center had grown steadily over the past eight years.

While about 1,300 students enrolled at the center in 2001, the figure jumped to more than 5,700 in 2006 and 6,000 last year, statistics provided by the center showed.

Among them, students from North, Central and South America increased 208 percent from 2001 to 2005, followed by European students at 95 percent and Asian students at 75 percent.

Asian students took the lion's share of the center's student body, at 66 percent, followed by students from the Americas, at 20 percent, and Europe, at 11 percent.

Fang also attributed the growth to the global interest in the language and promotional efforts.

Ted Glomski, of Minnesota, said he chose Taiwan over China because he had already been to China and wanted to give Taiwan a try.

The 23-year-old came because of a nine-month scholarship from the Ministry of Education and the recommendation of a friend here.

Glomski, who has been here for five months, said he has had no problems making friends. Standing 190cm tall, Glomski said one thing he found difficult was buying clothes. Apart from missing his friends and family back home, he misses Mexican food and his black Labrador dog.

After finishing the program at the center, he said he would like to get a job in Taiwan in the technology sector or at a computer company and then go to graduate school, either in Taiwan or elsewhere.

Jay Dring, a 22-year-old from Grimsby, UK, studied in China for a year and lived in Taiwan for half a year before coming back in September. He also received a scholarship from the Ministry of Education to study at the center and completed the program just in time for the Lunar New Year.

One aspect of his stay in Taiwan he found somewhat challenging, he said, was creating an environment that is conducive to learning the language.

"You have to make sure you befriend as many people as you can and not just hang around with the people of your own country," he said. "It is not that easy to make friends with local students, although we are located on campus in a university. It's still a little bit isolated from the local students."

Dring said he would like to get a permanent job here, either in the business sector, in finance, or perhaps a part-time job in a law firm. Should he fail to find employment, he would perhaps consider going to China, he said.

"There are a lot of opportunities over there," he said. "It is quite easy to get quite well-paid jobs with little qualifications."

For the love of Taiwan


Tuesday, Feb 12, 2008, Page 8

Taiwan is a vibrant multi-ethnic country. Most people love its colorful divergent cultures of Aborigines, Hoklo, Hakka, Chinese, Japanese and even Westerners. Its people enjoy free speech under the newfound democracy.

Before World War II, Taiwan was a tranquil society with law and order. It was drastically changed by the arrival of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime after the the war.

Taiwanese were flabbergasted by the arrogant, inept and corrupt Chinese bureaucrats who stole public assets at will. Their disregard of law and the ethical code of civilized society alienated Taiwanese. Within two years, the infamous 228 Incident occurred.

To understand the political situation in Taiwan at that time, the reader could just imagine the probable reaction of US citizens if the current Chinese regime were installed in Washington.

If one cannot remember the unfortunate suffering of Taiwanese under the KMT regime, then one doesn't need to look very far. China under the rule of the corrupt Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is its carbon copy.

Despite being forced out of power in 2000, the KMT is still deeply entrenched in Taiwan and persists in controlling the legislative apparatus, judiciary system and local governments by utilizing massive amounts of stolen public assets, misleading propaganda and reckless boycotts against the democratically elected central government.

Moreover, the KMT has been openly collaborating with the CCP in a united-front campaign against Taiwan.

Amazingly, the leaders of developed nations and officials of the UN are also cooperating with China in suppressing the advancement of Taiwan democracy. Their actions contradict the UN Charter and openly trample the rights of 23 million Taiwanese.

Such open violations of human rights have been well documented by the global media using advanced information technology, and the records will never be erased from the history of mankind.

Facing the aforementioned difficulties, becoming a neutral nation with a direct democracy based on the Swiss model might be the best solution for ensuring the survival of Taiwan Democracy.

Similar to Taiwan, Switzerland is a relatively small country with divergent ethnicities and four official languages.

Although it is bordered by five nations, Switzerland's armed forces safeguard its neutrality, taking advantage of the high Alps with a strategy of long-term attrition to discourage potential military conflicts.

To emulate this type of neutral and democratic country, the KMT must show its genuine love for Taiwan by reforming itself, returning its well documented stolen public assets and allowing fair representation of all people at every governmental level.

It needs to abandon its short-sighted indulgence in one-party domination, which will invariably undermine democracy. It's necessary to work with other political parties to transform Taiwan into a mature democracy that will benefit all Taiwanese.

The leaders of the world community, including those of China, must abide by the UN Charter and support Taiwanese in their struggle to free themselves from the oppression of foreign powers.

In the court of civilized international opinion, the destiny of Taiwan should be decided by the people who truly love and identify themselves with Taiwan.

The neutral Taiwan would become the epicenter of harmonious Asian nations and would also function as a security buffer zone at a strategic location.

Samuel Yang
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan