Alumni Association in Taiwan

About the Alumni Association in Taiwan

Alumni Association in Taiwan was established in 1950, and has a history of more than 60 years. The members are Taiwanese people who have experienced studying at one of the undergraduate or graduate schools at Waseda, regardless of whether that was before or after the war. The number of members tops 500, and many are playing active roles in the political or the business world. It is an outstanding group among the many Koyukais and Tomonkais at Waseda because of its history, size, strong ties between members, and rich personnel resources.

Recently, we are in the process of reform. In order to increase the number of members, we have created an official website, enriched the content of our bulletin, and planned various parties and events. There are also groups by members who live in the southern part of Taiwan, who are still young, and who are elderly, and they are deepening their ties within each group. In November every year, a general meeting is held with the President in attendance. Alumni Association in Taiwan is contributing as a bridge between Taiwan and Japan.
Mari Katakura (Graduated in 1995, School of Political Science and Economics)

The attractive points of Taiwan

It takes about three and a half hours by plane from Japan to Taiwan. Taiwan and Japan boast a strong tie between them, both in historical and economic terms. After Japan received a relief donation worth more than 20 billion yen from Taiwan after the Great East Japan Earthquake, more and more Japanese are visiting Taiwan. Now, Taiwan is always ranked high in the ranking of overseas destinations for Japanese people. There are countless attractive points of Taiwan including its food, natural beauty, and culture which are all rich in variety; the most attractive point of Taiwan, however, is probably its warm people. Many people are gentle and friendly, and they are kind to children and elderly people. Everyone will probably feel comfortable here. I would like to invite many people to visit Taiwan to enjoy such attractive points here.
Mari Katakura (Graduated in 1995, School of Political Science and Economics)

Our Members

We would like to introduce to you some of our members in the form of an interview.
The name of the interviewer is Yoshifumi Katakura (Graduated in 1994, School of Education).

Lo Fu-chen is from Chiayi in the Southern part of Taiwan. He graduated from National Taiwan University, and afterwards completed a master’s course at the Graduate School of Economics at Waseda University. He taught at United Nations University for 10 years. He also served as the head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan (an organization which functions as the Taiwanese embassy in Japan).

Referring to the large contribution made by a Japanese rescue team during the 1999 Taiwan Earthquake and the large financial contribution made by Taiwan during the Great East Japan Earthquake, he says that the relationship between Japan and Taiwan is exceptional in the way they help each other. He also says that, in addition, the process of modernization in Taiwan started when Japan was governing Taiwan. Especially, he says, the education offered by Japan had a large influence on Taiwan. Three Waseda alumni, including Lo Fu-chen, became the head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan. Furthermore, Ke Zi-zhang, a rugby player, is also one of those Waseda alumni from Taiwan who played an active role in their field. Lo Fu-chen says that he hopes to cherish such connections and deepen the exchanges between Taiwan and Japan.
Lo Fu-chen (Graduated in 1963, Graduate School of Economics)

Hsieh Nan-chiang is from Tainan in the south of Taiwan. He says that his role is to connect alumni who were Waseda students in the pre-war period with those in the post-war period. In 2001, he became Alumni Association in Taiwan’s first Chairman who studied at Waseda in the post-war period. He served as Chairman for two terms until 2006. While in office, he worked hard to make Alumni Association in Taiwan into a corporation. While he was Chairman, he also started inviting the President of Waseda University to Alumni Association in Taiwan’s general meetings held in November every year.

His father is Hsieh Kuo-cheng, “the father of baseball in Taiwan.” Hsieh Kuo-cheng and Hsieh Nan-chiang’s daughter are also Waseda alumni. Hsieh Nan-chiang laughs, saying that his family must be rare, as family members from three consecutive generations experienced studying abroad at Waseda. Hsieh Nan-chiang also likes baseball, and says that he used to invite the winner of the Tokyo Big 6 University Baseball League’s Fall Championship to Taiwan every year.
Hsieh Nan-chiang (Graduated in 1962, Graduate School of Commerce)

After graduation, Tong Ching-hsi managed a general agency for Canon, and at present, he is the President of the ABICO Group. He is from Kaohsiung in the southern part of Taiwan. His grandfather used to be a branch manager of Sanwa Bank. Amid the confusion after the war, he graduated from National Taiwan Ocean University and studied abroad at Waseda.

He says that while he was studying abroad, he saved money by working part-time at a Chinese restaurant managed by a Chinese Japanese. He bought a used Bluebird and truly enjoyed his student life. When he was Chairman of the Alumni Association in Taiwan from December 2006 to December 2011, he planned many events and promoted exchanges in order to deepen relationships between members.

He says that Taiwan is a familiar place for Japanese people. He wants many students to come to Taiwan to study. There are about 90,000 small-to-medium-sized Taiwanese businesses operating in China, and he says the students will be able to learn the economic situation of China through Taiwan. He enthusiastically says that he would like the students to utilize their experiences in Taiwan in order to learn about the world.
Tong Ching-hsi (Graduated in 1965, School of Science and Engineering)

Hsu Chieh-li is the person of promise for the next-generation Alumni Association in Taiwan. His grandfather recommended him to study Japanese, and he went from the University of Toronto to Waseda University to study. After returning to Taiwan, he has managed an electronics company established in 1973 as the second-generation owner.

Many members of the Alumni Association in Taiwan were elderly; in recent years, however, the number of members in their 30s or 40s is increasing. Hsu Chieh-li says that he hopes to promote exchanges between younger generation and older generation, and to encourage younger generation to be proud of being a Waseda graduate. He also says that he hopes to utilize the connections of Waseda alumni to play an active role on a global scale.
Hsu Chieh-li (Graduated in 2001, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies)

Covered in Waseda Gakuho, December 2016 Issue

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