TCU Sets Up New Base Overseas to Broaden Scope of Education

Text: Kuan-Yi Ho
Translation: Steve J. Lin

On February 23, the Education Center of Tzu Chi University was officially opened to the general public in Chiangmai, Thailand. The Director of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand Chen-Yuan Tung, CEO of Tzu Chi Humanitarian Center Tuan-Cheng Wang, and CEO of Tzu Chi Foundation, Thailand Chun-Ling Lin attended this event. Moreover, TCU’s Professor Kuan-Yi Ho and the Director of TCU Chinese Language Center Xiao-Ci Li also attended. The Education Center will get involved in student recruiting efforts and promotion of international exchange, as well as academic collaboration. Thus, TCU has a new base overseas.

The opening ceremony for Jing Si Chinese Academy Thailand and the commencement ceremony of Chiangmai Tzu Chi School were also held today. Many people took part in it and the leaders of education in Thailand and Taiwan also gave their best wishes. CEO of Tzu Chi Humanitarian Center Tuan-Cheng Wang said, “We are grateful to the Thai government and your education agency for your full support in founding Jing Si Chinese Academy Thailand. Taiwan Tzu Chi Schools will assist Jing Si Chinese Academy Thailand wholeheartedly, especially through TCU’s Education Center, which was just set up today. Moreover, Tzu Chi Humanitarian Center will also fully back Jing Si Chinese Academy Thailand for its development.”

Tzu Chi Foundation has been associated with northern Thailand since 1995. Many veterans and descendants of what was known as China’s Lost Army, in 1949, resided in Thailand in poor conditions. Tzu Chi Foundation initiated numerous programs, such as caring for elderly veterans, building permanent housing, teaching farming skills, providing fruit seedlings, offering emergency relief, building schools, etc. Chiangmai Tzu Chi School was set up by Tzu Chi Foundation and admitted its first student in 2005. In addition to enhancing students’ skills and knowledge, this school teaches its students to love their parents and do good deeds for others, by following Thai tradition and Tzu Chi’s humanistic culture. Director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand Chen-Yuan Tung said, “I am grateful to Tzu Chi Foundation, for your great endeavors in Thailand for over twenty years. I am impressed that Tzu Chi carried out every project wholeheartedly and tirelessly. I am happy to witness today that Jing Si Chinese Academy Thailand and the Education Center of Tzu Chi University are opened to the public. We expect to see humanistic culture will work hand-in-hand with education, to provide a platform for enhancing teachers’ skills and knowledge and spread Tzu Chi’s humanistic culture.”

TCU’s Education Center will work on collaborations between government agencies and Tzu Chi Affiliates. It will put together domestic and overseas resources to expand Tzu Chi’s education horizons, assist Chiangmai Tzu Chi School to train its teachers, and partner with Thai universities for academic collaborations. We wish to do more for Thailand, from the solid base that we have built over the past twenty years, in charity, education and humanistic culture.

TCU’s Vice President Ingrid Liu pointed out that, TCU will do its best to work with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand and Chiangmai Tzu Chi School for the betterment of education in northern Thailand. Through international collaborations, TCU wishes to provide more opportunities for its students to gain their skills and knowledge by working overseas, to enable students to broaden their international perspectives and enhance their international mobility.