Law School Blog
Thursday
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Thursday in Taipei involved more sightseeing and several meetings with Taiwanese alumni and friends. During the morning, my wife and I visited Taipei 101, the world's tallest building. The view from the 89th floor gives one a much different impression of Taipei as a city. While not nearly as densely populated as Seoul, Taipei is still a city of 6 million, by far the largest on this island of 23 million citizens. Thousands of people get around the city by motor scooter. Seeing the riders maneuver around taxis, buses, and cars, gives one a new sense risk-taking. While Taipei is not quite as large and bustling as Seoul, it is definitely a city that you should put on your personal travel list.
We had a traditional eight-course Chinese meal with Grand Justice Ma, retired from Taiwan's equivalent of the Constitutional Court. We were joined by Dr. Wei, the former head of the National Science Council, the Taiwan equivalent of the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts (in other words, the NSC makes all government research funding decisions). Both gentlemen proved to be delightful, engaging in every way. Dr. Wei, earned his doctorate at UW in engineering. He has led a rich life as a faculty member and government policymaker. Grand Justice Ma, 80 years young, spoke at length about the Taiwan educational system, and his time teaching at our law school in 1970 and 1989. H.P. Ma's father, was a lawyer who found even greater fame as a noted artist whose works appear in nearly every great museum on earth, from the Palace Museum to the Art Institute of Chicago.
After lunch, we visited the nation's premiere law school, National Taiwan University. There, Dean Tsai and Associate Dean Wang, both UW School of Law alumni, welcomed us with open arms. Our conversation was wide-ranging, and included developing the outline for a new collaboration agreement between our two schools. NTU offers an excellent opportunity for UW students interested in learning more about Asia, since many of their classes are taught in English. Taiwan also provides an interesting study for those of you concerned about economic development in Asia. The nation has had huge success with its economy, as well as maintaining a democratic and pluralistic system. We hope to bring more Taiwanese law students to our campus in the coming years and to send several of our own students and faculty to Taipei for a cross cultural experience.
On Thursday night, we joined President Emmert for dinner with more than 100 UW graduates, including several law school alums for a celebration of the UW Taiwan Alumni chapter. Both the new UW Taiwan Club President, Mr. Ciao, and his predecessor, Mr. Huang, are successful entrepreneurs, one in technology and the other as the principal owner of a multi-company conglomerate. Both gentlemen represent the essence of Tom Friedman's recent book, The World is Flat. Their companies have subsidiaries throughout Taiwan and in several countries around the globe. Each man speaks Chinese, English, and one or two other languages. Throughout this visit, I have been reminded of the importance of language. All of us should work towards learning a second or third language, if we haven't already. That is the essence of developing cultural competence.
The breadth of work experiences and ages among our guests covered the spectrum, from recent graduates to those of more than 50 years! You will certainly find some of the most supportive Huskies anywhere in Taipei, even on such a short trip such as ours.
Dean Knight