2010/03/15 22:19:51
Annie Lan, a fourth-year finance student at National Taiwan University, who serves as an assistant chairperson of one of the event's 22 committees, said that although Taiwan is not a member of the world body, it can still play an active role on the international stage.
"Taiwan organized the Deaflympics (in 2009) and will hold the Taipei International Flora Exposition (late this year), " Lan said.
"These activities has raised Taiwan's international profile and let the world know that Taiwan is able to organize these (international) activities, " she added.
Taiwan lost its representation in the U.N. under the name of the Republic of China in 1971 after the world body admitted People's Republic of China as a member.
Taiwan has since tried to join the U.N. and take part in U.N.-associated activities but has been repeatedly thwarted by China's obstruction.
Vivian Chang, a five-year NTU student who acts as a senior assistant chairperson at the event, said the World Model United Nations (WorldMUN) helps her better understand the importance of Taiwan's participation in international organizations.
She said Taiwan is an island country that can make a contribution to the world by sharing its experience in fisheries and other fields.
Some 300 students from NTU and other local schools are currently co-hosting the five-day event in Taipei with their peers from Harvard University. It is also the first time that the event is taking place in Taiwan.
Over 1,800 students are discussing or debating on climate change, terrorism, nuclear and other issues by playing as delegates from countries other than their own.
Matthew Gibson, an American who teaches English at Mingdao High School in central Taiwan's Taichung County, closely observed the students on the committee on trade and global climate change.
He spoke highly of the performance of delegates representing China, India, Haiti and the United Kingdom.
"These students have demonstrated good leadership skills. They were in charge in group discussions, they have concrete plans and they did well in getting people on their side, " he told the Central News Agency.
He attended the event because he and other teachers at his school also created a club to help students get familiar with world issues.
Arne Schroer, a teacher from Universitat Passau who led a group of 10 students from Germany, said that his students are representing Pakistan and they have to defend the current government's policy position.
This has helped his students look at international issues from "an unusual perspective, " he said. "It is very interesting to look at these issues not from a foreign, western, or German perspective, but from a Pakistani one." Another university professor, Jose Pavia from Portugal, said that students who have attended the WorldMUN often look for jobs related to diplomacy and international relations after they graduate.
"They can understand much better what they have to do when they arrive there," he said. (By Alex Jiang) ENDITEM/ls
