The second Global Initiatives Symposium (GIS) achievement exhibition and certificate conferment ceremony were held at 2 p.m. on July 15th at the International Conference Room of the College of Social Sciences. Many dignitaries from different circles, including President Ma Ying-jeou, were invited to attend the ceremony. 120 students from 18 countries comprised the audience, who respectively came from Harvard, Yale, Cambridge, MIT, University of Tokyo, Peking University, and National Taiwan University.

In addition to commending NTU as the organizing agency and officiating the certificate conferment ceremony, President Ma Ying-jeou also shared his experience in participating in the 21st AIESEC conference held in the United States while he was a student. He supported the students to participate in exchange programs because Taiwan needs to know more about international news. The GIS Taiwan, for example, is a very good platform for international exchange where students from different countries can expand their horizons through interaction with one another and create a new life experience.

President Ma stressed that Taiwan gained a foothold in this world with its quality professionals. Citing Lu Yen-hsun, Taiwan’s rising star in professional tennis, Ms, Chen Shu-chu, Time magazine’s hero, and Lin Yu Chun, the successor to Susan Boyle as examples, he explained the international influence of Taiwanese nationals. President Ma appreciated the spirit of charity of Ms. Chen Shu-chu very much, and hoped that more people could follow suit. Because of these people’s accomplishments, they shed their light not only in Taiwan, but also in the world as well. Their examples prove that Taiwan can win the world’s respect through its soft power.

With regard to the questions raised by U.S. representatives on the signing of ECFA, President Ma said that, the enterprises of Taiwan could capitalize on the signing of ECFA to promote import and export, and to establish deeper communication with other countries. President Ma was not only referring to ICT industries, but also to other industries as well, such as LED and Green Technology industries, which would all become top 5 star industries.

Additionally, President Ma promised that his government would support the related private industries. The government and the private industries would stand on the same line, he said. He also pointed out the influence of culture could not be underestimated. At the same time, a lot could be expected from Taiwan’s developments in medical technology, refined tourism industry and cloud computing , he said. He hoped that Taiwan could exhibit its strong soft power to the world as a peace-maker and as a supporter of humanitarianism. For instance, when Haiti had its terrible earth quake, the relief teams from Taiwan’s governmental agencies and Taiwan’s private sectors provided help in the disaster-stricken areas. Such was the manifestation of the spirit of humanitarianism, he said.

GIS Taiwan was an international student’s conference orchestrated by NTU’s Office of Student Affairs and student teams. It was also the first international youth forum in Taiwan that was organized solely by students, that had a long-term development plan, and was ready to take root in Taiwan. The purpose of the Symposium was to pool together the opinions of international youths on the important issues and developing trends in the world, to instigate flexible and deep thinking on the part of students, and to promote Taiwan’s international visibility through the power of student conferences.

The theme of GIS Taiwan was “Emergence of New Giants: Evolution or Revolution?” which took into consideration the developing trends of global economy, culture, and technology, and explored the problems faced by emerging nations in resource allocation, cultural communication, and the development of green technology. In addition to welcoming 120 international students, NTU also collaborated with domestic wind-power industries to set up workshops.

This academic feast was launched d in Taipei from July 12th to July 16th. In addition to exciting lectures and seminars, the Symposium also included very rewarding cultural tours, visits to enterprises, workshops, simulation meetings , and dinner banquets. Aside from discussing the important issues in the world, the participating students also got to experience the beauty of Taiwan through a series of cultural tours and visits where they encountered the passionate and pluralistic folklore and appreciated the breadth and depth of Taiwanese culture.

The opening ceremony for GIS Taiwan was held at 9:30 a.m. on July the 13th. Dr. George Tai-Jan Chen, Vice President of NTU, Mr. Wen-Yi Chen, Deputy Director of The Department of North American Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Joseph Tseng, Managing Director of Crystal Ventures, attended the opening ceremony where they made speeches to encourage the attending delegates.

Dr. George Tai-Jan Chen urged all participants to apply what they learned from GIS Taiwan to their daily lives. By transforming knowledge into action and daring to practice, change would be created, he said. Mr. Joseph Tseng, Managing Director of Crystal Ventures, maintained that all delegates must understand local culture. Understanding a national culture is of tremendous significance to everyone, he said, and he expected that every participant gained something from the Symposium, and could make contributions to the world.

Dr. Sirilaksana Khoman, a professor from Thailand’s Thammasat University, delivered an exciting keynote speech on “Reshaping World Order: From G8 to G 20”, in which he talked about the difficulties faced by emerging countries. The problem with emerging countries is the lack of professional knowledge and skill, he said, so they must rely on developed countries to get them. But the protocols applied in international trade often proved to be detrimental to the emerging countries. This problem can only be solved through an international organization. Of all the international organizations, the WTO, Dr. Khoman stressed, is the best platform, which can provide opportunities to the emerging countries to cooperate and communicate with the developed countries.