Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Students experience diplomacy first-hand on Guatemalan trip

Taipei, Nov. 27 (CNA) Accusations and rumors that Taiwan is involved in "checkbook diplomacy" are incorrect, as Taiwan has been engaging in "down-to-earth diplomacy" with its allies, a group of students who recently completed a visit to Guatemala said Tuesday.

"After witnessing all of our cooperative projects there, now I understand the hard work Taiwanese diplomats and staff have done on foreign soil. They deserved more support from the people of Taiwan, " said Hsu Jen-he, one of six university and graduate school students who visited Taiwan's Central American ally Guatemala Sept. 22-30 after winning a blogging competition.

The trip was sponsored by the International Cooperation Development Fund (TaiwanICDF), the principal body overseeing Taiwan's cooperative overseas development programs with the purpose of strengthening international cooperation and enhancing foreign relations by promoting the economic and social development of partner nations.

The students, comprised of two teams named "Anti-Blase" and "Simply Love Taiwan, " participated in Taiwan's various programs in Guatemala, including growing papayas and cultivating Tilapia, and writing about daily life in their blogs. They also visited Taiwanese diplomats and agriculture experts based in the capital, Antigua.

"The aquaculture industry, especially the cultivation of Tilapia, is important for Guatemalans because some of them had been suffering from protein malnutrition, " said Hsieh Chung-an, a National Chung Cheng University student.

They were also surprised at local people's friendliness towards visitors and their understanding of Taiwan. Most of the Guatemalans, especially young people, have heard about Taiwan and would like to further their studies in Taiwan, said Hsieh Ya-shu, a graduate student at National Chung Cheng University.

"The trip definitely changed my earlier understanding about this Central American country and the situation of Taiwan's foreign diplomatic work, " she said, adding that she was considering working for ICDF as a volunteer after graduation and would love to visit Guatemala again.

For years, Taiwan has been trying to work with countries in need through various cooperative programs and via various channels rather than simply offering funding help, said ICDF Secretary-General Dickens Chen.

"Taiwan has sent numerous volunteers, civilian substitute servicemen, medical and agriculture delegations abroad to help foreign countries. It was not easy for Taiwan to turn itself from a country in need of aid, in the 1950s, into a country that capable of offering aid, " Chen said.

The program tries to offer young people first-hand experience of Taiwan's diplomacy and a global perspective. It is a relatively smaller program with a budget of a couple millions dollars, but it will help young people and Taiwan's diplomatic efforts in the long run, Chen said.