Taiwanese students from 14 New England schools and the Federation of Taiwanese Students Association in New England (FTSANE). First row (from the left 2-3): Director Cynthia Huang of the Education Division and Director General Jonathan Sun of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston(TECO-Boston).
The annual meeting of the presidents of Taiwanese Student Associations in New England, which had been suspended for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was resumed on October 29, 2022 at Suffolk University through the efforts of the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston(TECO-Boston), with a total of 44 presidents and officers from 14 Taiwanese Student Associations.
The meeting started with the introduction of the presidents and officers of each school by Ms. Pei-Yu Liao, President of the FTSANE and a speech of encouragement to the Taiwanese students by the Director General Sun of the TECO-Boston. Then a briefing on the business of the TECO-Boston, a discussion session on leadership and a presentation by a lawyer on the legal issues.
Director Cynthia Huang introduced the services of the Education Division and the Ministry of Education's Yushan Scholars and Young Scholars Program, the Ministry of Education's Overseas Talent Sharing and International Linkage Program (Taiwan GPS), and the Contact Taiwan website, encouraging students to return to Taiwan after their studies and contribute their knowledge. She also emphasized the Ministry of Education's special fraud prevention briefing to educate students on how to respond calmly and effectively to avoid financial or personal losses when encountering fraud.
Attorney Huntern Shu explained the three common problems encountered by international students in the U.S., such as housing, transportation and criminal disputes. He suggested to calmly reduce the tension in the case of a dispute, and make full use of the fact that English is not a native language to de-escalate the situation when being questioned by the police, and not to be aggressive to avoid unnecessary arguments.
At the end of the meeting, Director Huang appealed to the students to spread the message that the she welcomes more Taiwanese Student Associations or individual students to reconnect with the Education Division.
Date:11/03/2022