Taiwan and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), pledging to continue their co-operation on the Taiwan Studies Programme.
Representative David Y. L. Lin and the Director of SOAS, Baroness Valerie Amos, were both present at Taipei Representative Office to sign the document at a ceremony on 29 November.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Representative Lin said the MOU signifies ‘a very important and longstanding partnership between Taiwan and SOAS’. He paid tribute to Professor Robert Ash and Dr Dafydd Fell amongst other SOAS staff, for their efforts in promoting Taiwan studies and strengthening academic links between Taiwan and the UK.
Baroness Amos also praised the long-term partnership and support from the government of Taiwan, stressing the importance of the MOU to SOAS. The Baroness stated that the MOU was a testament to the ‘fruits of the partnership’ between Taiwan and SOAS, and both sides would continue strengthening their engagement.
Reaffirming their commitment to the MOU, Representative Lin and Baroness Amos pledged that SOAS and the TRO would continue to work together in strengthening the discipline in the UK, as well as fostering links between the other centres of Taiwan Studies in Europe, the United States and Taiwan.
The ceremony marked a new chapter for the Taiwan Studies programme, which was launched in 1999 to make knowledge of the politics, history, languages and culture of Taiwan more broadly available. It was followed by a Q&A session in which students from the programme at SOAS asked Representative Lin a series of questions concerning the international relations of Taiwan.
