Ma pledges to push 'soft power diplomacy'

The government also hopes to see 20,000 foreign students come to Taiwan to study every year so as to allow the international community to get to know and support Taiwan through such exchanges, Ma said.

The president made the remarks during an event held to present the results of the International Youth Ambassadors project launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) this past summer.

Under the initiative, students from three Taiwanese universities were sent overseas to participate in camps in six South Pacific countries that are diplomatic allies of Taiwan: Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.

Ma told the students that international exchanges are “the best way to discover oneself.”

While consolidating the relations with its diplomatic allies will remain a focus of Taiwan's foreign policy, the government will achieve the goal not only through interaction between diplomats, but also through deeper contact between the peoples, Ma said.

He encouraged the students to visit as many foreign countries as possible to expand their international experience.

The MOFA and the Ministry of Education are now studying the possibility of launching courses that are given entirely in English under the Taiwan Scholarship program, and many foreign students have expressed interest in the courses, the president said.

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