The Chinese Delegation Night, February 13, 2011

Photos are provided by Mr. Colin Kao (a visiting scholar from Taiwan)

The Organization of Asian Studies and Global China Connection co-hosted the Chinese Delegation Night last Sunday. It was really an exciting and valuable experience for us to greet the Chinese students from the Tsinghua University in Beijing. We not only had professors and scholars to join the event, there were also students from GWU and people from other organizations attending the event. I met a guy from the Henry Stimson Center, his name was Yanchuan Liu; we had really impressive discussions about the Cross-Strait relations and domestic political, economic, and social environments in Taiwan. Since he is from Mainland China, and I am from Taiwan, our conversation could reach to more profound and comprehensive issues. I remember he asked me some quite interesting questions such as how did young people (like me) in Taiwan think about the KMT or the DPP, and what was my political position toward each of them? As a matter of fact, both of these two questions were sometimes sensitive regarding the Cross-Strait relations; for many people, these could be a taboo in the conversation. However, it turned out to be a pleasure atmosphere because we shared and exchanged our ideas and information, and I believed that both of us were enjoying the process of sharing and interacting. Furthermore, I also met a visiting scholar, whose name was Colin Kao, from my home country, that is, Taiwan. It was always hilarious and nostalgic when you meet people from your country when you are abroad. And of course, our conversations centered around the triangle relations of China, the United States, and Taiwan, as well as the comparison of life experiences between the United States and Taiwan. The event provided a great opportunity for people from United States or other countries to promote mutual understanding and build friendships, and indeed all participants made friends and had a wonderful time in the event. I heard people’s conversations ranged from politics, economy, society, culture, life experiences and so forth. I could see the smile on every participant’s face as well.I really appreciate everyone that contributed to the event’s success, although I was exhausted at the end of the event due to my uncomfortable high heels, it didn’t impact much on my enjoyment of the event!