07/17/2020．Wenzao achieves success again! It is the only university in the technical and vocational education system to have received this award!
Three students from its Department of International Affairs received the 2020 MOFA Taiwan Scholarship

【Press release provided by the Department of International Affairs】Fourth-year students Min-Jung Tsai, Ju-Hsiu Liao and Yang-Chin Hsu of Wenzao’s Department of International Affairs received the 2020 MOFA Taiwan Scholarship provided by the Ministry of Education for their outstanding academic performance and international participation. They were led by Director Mark W. Lai of the Department to receive the award at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 12^th of this month. Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu of Foreign Affairs congratulated them when conferring the award on them. He encourages students to actively participate in foreign affairs and take the Civil Service Special Examination for Diplomatic and Consular Personnel, whereby they can bring Taiwan onto the world stage, while making contributions to the nation.

To cultivate talents in foreign affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs encourages excellent young people to devote themselves to foreign affairs. Thirty-four students are selected from public and private colleges and universities to receive prize money and award certificates each year. It is worth mentioning that Wenzao tops the competition in the technical and vocational education system this year; it is also the only university in the technical and vocational education system to have received the award. Compared with last year, Wenzao has one more student who received the award this year. With a total of three students who received the award, Wenzao’s Department of International Affairs has achieved outstanding results in cultivating talents in international affairs.

The educational goal of Wenzao’s Department of International Affairs is “to cultivate talents in international politics and economics with cultural and foreign language competence.” With a focus on comprehensive learning in the following three fields: international politics, economics, and culture, courses in the Department are taught in English to strengthen the foundation for students’ academic success, along with students’ critical thinking, cross-cultural communication, and foreign language competence. Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu of Foreign Affairs and his colleagues give high recognition to these students with excellent foreign language competence cultivated by Wenzao. They also encourage Wenzao’s students to contribute their efforts to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the future.

Award recipient Min-Jung Tsai mentions in her thesis that we value the importance of English day by day under internationalization. This transformation can potentially lead to changes in Taiwan citizens’ identification with their own culture, whereby discrimination and hegemony may form in Taiwan society. Her thesis uses Edward Said and Antonio Gramsci’s discourses in their Orientalism and Cultural Hegemony, respectively, as its theoretical basis, while incorporating observations on Taiwan society’s attitude towards the development of language and culture into it. A qualitative analysis of the above two theoretical works is also performed, aiming to use critical thinking to highlight the importance of self-worth and cultural identification when we pursue internationalization. Tsai expresses her appreciation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its recognition and to faculty members of her Department for teaching her assiduously during her four years of studies. The knowledge she accumulated from her studies is the key to her obtainment of the award. However, winning the award is not the end; rather, it is the beginning of approaching the next milestone. Tsai is sincerely grateful to Director Mark W. Lai for supervising her research and thesis writing. She incorporated what she had learned during her four years of studies into her thesis. Although it was hard to write a thesis, which took her a year and which is a huge challenge to undergraduate students, the academic results achieved have left her with impressive, unforgettable memories. Tsai points out that she would not have been able to win the award by working alone, but by luckily having resources most of the time. When expressing her gratitude, she also aspires to improve the development of society and works hard towards her aspirations.

Second award recipient Ju-Hsiu Liao conducted a quantitative analysis on the issue of Taiwan independence or unification with mainland China that has been long discussed in Taiwan. By designing a questionnaire from the following three perspectives: international affairs, issues about China, and local knowledge of Taiwan, she hoped to better understand the similarities and differences among various age groups’ views on cross-strait relations. In her literature review, Liao discussed in detail politicians, experts, and scholars who have contributed to the issue of cross-strait relations, which laid a foundation for her solid thesis. She hopes to encourage Taiwan citizens to focus more on international affairs when “either Taiwan independence or unification with mainland China” is the only choice for them in terms of political relations. She also calls on everyone to avoid moving in the wrong direction due to their choice of either Taiwan independence or unification with mainland China when it comes to social progress. Liao sincerely thanks the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its recognition and the faculty members of Wenzao’s Department of International Affairs for teaching her. During her four years of studies, she acquired professional knowledge unknown to her in the past, while participating in on-campus and off-campus activities, which made her university life fruitful. Upholding the spirit of seizing the opportunity when it comes up and not denying yourself before you try, she has enough courage to try different things. Winning the MOFA Taiwan Scholarship makes her feel more confident in actualizing the goals she set in her future plans. She will work harder to improve her ability and gain more experience, hoping to contribute to her hometown and country in the future.

Third award recipient Yang-Chin Hsu’s research focuses on the development background and direction of the UK’s foreign policy. He applied the “Three Majestic Circles” proposed by former British Prime Minister Churchill, the “Three Models” proposed by Graham Allison, and the “National Interests” proposed by Donald E. Nuechterlein in his literature review to enrich the background of the UK’s foreign policy. He used the Iraq War as a case study to understand the stakeholders concerned (including British political elites, British mass speech, the US government, the European Union, the United Nations, Iraq, and the Arab world). Hsu points out that more effective communication can be achieved by the UK and US governments establishing a special relationship based on the “Three Majestic Circles.” Moreover, Taiwan and other countries without conventional diplomacy can learn more from the UK’s foreign policy. Hsu is grateful to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for awarding him the MOFA Taiwan Scholarship, which is recognition of his studies of international affairs. He also mentions that diplomacy is important for Taiwan to gain a foothold in the world. He believes that more people can learn from, and pay more attention to, international affairs via the Scholarship. He thanks Wenzao’s Department of International affairs for teaching him in the past four years, which enabled him to gain a clearer understanding of relationships among countries, while incorporating theories he learned in his research on the UK’s foreign policy, to understand diplomatic habits. In the future, he will continue to focus on diplomatic habits to help our country build closer international relationships.

The above three students of Wenzao’s Department of International Affairs stood out from the rigorous review conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They have brought honor to Wenzao by demonstrating the professional knowledge of international politics, economics, and culture they acquired at the University at the award ceremony. They also embody the effort Wenzao’s Department of International Affairs made to cultivate talents in foreign affairs. Moreover, Wenzao is the only private university in the technical and vocational education system to have won the award for two consecutive years, which attests that the University provides attentive teaching to its students, while its students are proactive towards learning.

Director Mark W. Lai gives high recognition to the three award recipients. He hopes that students currently studying at the University will work harder to turn winning the MOFA Taiwan Scholarship into a tradition of Wenzao’s Department of International Affairs. He further hopes that the award recipients can continue to shine in the fields of diplomacy and international affairs, devoting themselves to the development of Taiwan.