Taiwan, West Virginia universities sign educational cooperation agreement
Education Division of TECRO
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 10, 2021) — Representatives of National Sun Yat-sen University and West Virginia University met on Thursday to sign an agreement regarding the implementation of the Taiwan Huayu BEST Program. Meant to promote cooperation in language education between the two universities, the agreement was signed by WVU President E. Gordon Gee and NSYSU President Dr. Ying-Yao Cheng in a virtual ceremony, with Deputy Representative Robin J. C. Cheng of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States serving as a witness.
The agreement deepens the ties between Taiwan and the U.S. at the local level and serves as a milestone cooperative accomplishment for the bilateral relationship. Efforts to enhance educational cooperation will include student and teacher exchanges, expanding instructional training and recruitment and promoting the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language. These efforts are expected to make WVU a main center for learning Mandarin in the state. The agreement follows the signing of the U.S.-Taiwan Education Initiative in December 2020, which sought to expand mutual language education, student and instructor exchanges and foster the bilateral partnership. WVU is the first prestigious research university to cooperate with Taiwan in the state. This partnership will help promote cross-cultural relationships between American and Taiwanese students, educators and universities and create unique opportunities for both Taiwan and West Virginia.
Deputy Representative Cheng expressed gratitude to the two universities on behalf of Ambassador Bi-Khim Hsiao of TECRO and said in his opening remarks that the ceremony "marks the beginning of a new era of educational cooperation between Taiwan and the U.S." He also expressed confidence that the efforts will help Taiwan achieve the Executive Yuan’s goal of becoming a bilingual country by 2030 and prove to be a “testament to the fact that democracy can deliver.”
