Recalling his time as an exchange student in Taiwan, Singapore’s deputy representative to Taiwan Wang Zonghan (王宗翰) said that Taiwanese people are what impressed him most about the experience.
Wang in a recent media interview spoke highly of the family that hosted him when he participated in the Taiwan-Singapore high-school exchange program in 1994.
The program, launched in 1983, is now in its 40th year. This year, the program saw Taiwanese students going to Singapore in July, and Singaporean students coming to Taipei in November.
Photo: CNA
For Singaporean students, participating in the program is about getting the full Taiwan experience, Wang said.
One of the things Wang felt everyone in the program should do is to take the bus to classes to experience commuting as a student, he said.
“Once I fell asleep on the bus and missed my stop, so I decided to go for chicken cutlets before getting the bus back home,” he said.
Initially, the program was envisioned as a way for Singaporean students to study Mandarin in an effective learning environment.
The experience allowed students to experience the language in an appropriate cultural environment, rather than just studying it in a classroom in Singapore, he said.
“It really is an effective approach, some students made miraculous progress in learning Chinese,” he said.
In addition to learning Mandarin, the program also includes extracurricular activities such as calligraphy classes, cooking and other cultural content, he said.
Every year, five high-schools in Taipei are chosen to hold exchanges with five junior colleges in Singapore. The Singaporean schools include Victoria Junior College, Raffles Institution, Hwa Chong Junior College, Temasek Junior College and National Junior College.
“The homestay was an opportunity for me to truly immerse myself in Taiwanese society,” he said.
“While friends of mine stayed in the middle of Taipei, I was in the suburbs, but I felt that gave me a greater emotional connection with my surroundings.”
Wang’s homestay was located in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) — formerly, Sanchong City in Taipei County, he said. When the homestay family suddenly had to leave the city and visit southern Taiwan to attend a funeral, they first made arrangements for him and ensured he was taken care of in their absence, he said, adding that he remains in touch with the family today.
“Singapore and Taiwan have many exchanges in the fields of economy, trade and culture, but student exchanges are the best way to deepen bilateral relations in the long term,” he said.
“As a diplomat, I will promote such exchanges for future generations of students.”
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS