(Central News Agency reporter Li Yixuan, special report from Johannesburg on the 2nd) Taiwan’s colleges and universities are ushering in a new academic year. Many young people who grew up in South Africa traveled thousands of miles to study in Taiwan. Gagotheko Matsheka learned Chinese at the age of 5 and went to Taiwan to study on a scholarship. She said that in the future, she hopes to combine Chinese and international business majors to become a bridge between Taiwan and South Africa.
Four young people who grew up in South Africa have started a new school year on campus in Taiwan. In September this year, they became freshmen at Feng Chia University and studied in an all-English bachelor's degree program in international business management. Matt began learning Chinese at the age of 5. During high school, he represented South Africa in international Chinese language competitions. After graduation, he received a Chinese Language Scholarship from Taiwan's Ministry of Education and studied Chinese at Ming Chuan University.
In an interview with Central News Agency, she said that from the foreign language she learned in the classroom in South Africa to the language she uses in daily life, she gradually progressed from first organizing her thoughts in English and then translating them to thinking and expressing her opinions in Chinese after coming to Taiwan. When she received the admission notice from Fengjia University, she couldn't help crying because this had always been her goal.
Ma Taike described Taiwan as "a land full of possibilities." She hopes to combine Chinese and international business majors to play a connecting role between Taiwan and South Africa in the future, not only translating languages, but also spanning two cultures.
Lindokuhle Nkoane, who went to Taiwan from Feijing Overseas Chinese Public School in South Africa, learned Chinese as her second language in high school and is currently in her fourth year of business management at Tunghai University. She recalled that the biggest challenge in arriving in Taiwan was not the language, but the first time she was away from her parents for a long time. "I cried almost every day in the first year," because everything had to be decided by herself.
Gao Qiaoling said that business education allowed her to observe how Taiwan integrates technology into transportation, retail and daily services. She began to think about her graduation direction and hoped to apply the business thinking and cross-cultural experience accumulated in Taiwan to her career in the future.
Quon Lee was born and raised in South Africa. His mother is South African and his father is from Taiwan. He is the current Taiwanese city councilor in Pretoria. He said that while studying in the International Relations Section of the Department of Political Science at National Taiwan University, he re-understood South Africa through Taiwan's democratic society. He also saw the possibility of complementarity between Taiwan and South Africa from the perspective of international relations. There is still room for deepening cooperation between the two sides.
Chi-Chi Juan is currently a third-year medical student at National Cheng Kung University. She grew up in South Africa and originally wanted to study in the United States. However, her parents wanted her to study in Taiwan because of factors such as Taiwan’s medical technology environment and being with her grandparents. This also made her think about how to bring Taiwanese experience back to Africa.
She said that hospital internship, medical humanities and elderly care experience have allowed her to gradually understand that medical care is not only about diseases and treatments, but also about patient autonomy, family and dignity of life. Especially after going to the Czech Republic to participate in exchanges related to elderly care, she also became interested in geriatric medicine, rehabilitation and smart medical care. "Knowledge and resources must be shared so that more people can be helped."
Four young people who grew up in South Africa studied business management, politics, and medicine in Taiwan respectively. With their enthusiasm, they traveled nearly 10,000 kilometers to study, broadening their horizons in professional learning, independent living, and cross-cultural exchanges. They also hope to turn what they have learned and experienced into a force that connects Taiwan and South Africa. (Editor: Zhang Zhixuan) 1150903
