TAINAN, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Consulting Director of Chinese Programs from American Councils for International Education (ACIE) Mr. Anthony J. Kane visited National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in southern Taiwan on June 22, to strengthen partnership and promote public diplomacy between Taiwan and the United States.
NCKU President Huey-Jen Jenny Su welcomed Kane and commented positively on Kane’s role as facilitator in the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program, an overseas language and cultural immersion program for American students, which is currently taking place at NCKU’s Chinese Language Center (CLC).
They also discussed the possibility of seeking the support from NCKU’s alumni in Taiwan and in the US to support ACIE’s projects.
“I believe this kind of educational projects is not just about education but also about public diplomacy,” Kane said.
He noted, the program we ran in the United States are usually supported by the American State department not the educational department because they understand the importance of Americans coming to Taiwan to study Chinese in order to improve Taiwan-US relationship to make it stable and strong.
Kane expressed his concerns over American students choosing to study Chinese in China instead of Taiwan. “My generation of scholars, diplomats and businessmen, all studied Chinese in Taiwan but now more and more young generations go to the Mainland,” he said.
“I think it’s important to introduce students to Taiwan because once they’ve been to Taiwan they always want to come back,” Kane added.
Kane’s projects are supported by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan. For which Kane promised to raise private support, individuals and companies, to help support the projects for ACIE, an international nonprofit to advance education.
President Su expressed the willingness to help facilitate the promotion of ACIE projects.
