On June 28 the Director of the Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature (GITL), Prof. Shu-Ling Horng, led faculty members and graduate students to travel to Malaysia for six days of scholarly meetings. The GITL has always been committed to promoting international scholarly exchange and collaboration with prestigious foreign universities in hopes of expanding students’ international perspectives. The purpose of this trip is conjointly hosting with Malaysian-Chinese Center at the University of Malaya the “2013 ICS International Graduate Students Conference”, where Chinese literature, culture, history, philosophy and other fields are explored to expand the scope of Chinese literature studies. The conference is scheduled on June 29 at the University of Malaya, with a total of over 100 participants including 28 scholars and graduate students from Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and China presenting their research papers.

During the trip they scheduled a visit to the Institute of Chinese Studies of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) and the Department of Chinese Language and Literature in New Era College on July 1. They participated in the “Southern Salon” symposium held on July 2 at Southern University College, where diverse views on Asia-Pacific Chinese literature, cultural exchanges, and localization characteristics were proposed by scholars from Southern University College and the GITL. This has not only deepened understanding and interactions between researchers from Malaysia and Taiwan but also fostered cooperation possibilities.

Upon arrival in Malaysia faculty members and students of the GITL were invited by the famous poet Poh Seng Titt, also the director of the renowned Chinese publisher, Mentor Publishing Sdn. Bhd., to the Malaysian Chinese poetry-sharing session held in the KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall of Purple Cane Tea Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. They met with local poets and scholars to discuss poetry writing and research findings. They have hoped that this overseas trip would promote lively exchanges between scholars and literary artists from both countries, sparking innovative and brilliant thoughts.