The World School Children's Art Exhibition is a program to encourage artistic expression and creativity among children. The goal is to promote cross-cultural understanding and friendship among the younger generation through the exchange of children’s art work.

School children aged 6-15 years are welcome to submit entries to participate. The following types of artwork are accepted:

Medium: Oil paintings, water colors, wood cut prints, pencil sketches, crayon drawings, pastels, collages, etchings, graphic designs…etc.

Size: Within 55cm X 40cm

Number: One piece from each child

The final exhibition will be held in September 2020 in Taipei. The deadline to submit entries for consideration is April 30, 2020. 

For further information, please see the application document and artwork label below, as well as the official website of the exhibition at http://www.kaearoc.org.tw/html/.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in New York co-hosted a panel discussion on Taiwan’s recent presidential and legislative elections with the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) at the TECO office on January 16, 2020. The event, titled Taiwan’s 2020 Elections: Results and Implications, analyzed the significance of the Jan. 11 poll in which citizens across Taiwan voted for president and vice-president, as well as members of the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s national legislature.

The panel discussion was moderated by FPRI’s president, Carol Rollie Flynn. Distinguished panelists included: Jacques deLisle, Director of the FPRI Asia Program; David Rank, a Senior Fellow at the Yale Jackson Institute of Global Affairs; Vincent Wang, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Adelphi University; as well as Shelley Rigger, a professor of political science at Davidson College. The event was attended by over 100 politicians, academics, students, Taiwanese community members, and journalists from around New York.

In her opening remarks, Ambassador Lily Hsu, the Director-General of TECO New York, stated that the Taiwanese people had passionately exercised their democratic right to vote on January 11, with over 14 million voters casting ballots and a high voter turnout rate of 74.9%. The results awarded incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen another four-year term, and the Democratic Progressive Party retained its majority of seats in the Legislative Yuan. The electoral process was fair and transparent, demonstrating the Taiwanese people’s resolve to maintain their freedom and democratic way of life. Following the election, over 70 leaders and officials from around the world sent congratulatory messages applauding Taiwan on a successful election, including the U.S. Secretary of State, the Japanese Foreign Minister, the British Foreign Secretary, and the European Union External Action Service. Ambassador Hsu also noted that Taiwan’s election attracted a high degree of international attention, with particular focus on the values embodied by Taiwan. As President Tsai expressed in her acceptance speech, “All countries should consider Taiwan a partner, not an issue.”
​
Ambassador Hsu also thanked the FPRI for co-hosting the panel discussion with TECO. The discussion analyzed the significance of the election results and the implications on Taiwan’s domestic political and economic development, as well as its ramifications for Taiwan’s external relations, including the Taiwan-U.S. relationship, the Cross-Strait relationship, and regional ties. Panelists also raised the potential challenges that President Tsai will face in her second term, the future development of various political parties, and social issues in Taiwan. The Education Division of TECO New York invited Taiwanese students studying in New York to join this panel discussion and students demonstrated their enthusiasm about the 2020 Presidential Election by raising many thought-provoking questions.

​The New York Senate passed the Jose Peralta New York State DREAM Act on Wednesday, January23, 2019. The legislation allows undocumented children, who are already students in the state, to qualify for state aid for higher education. It also creates a fund for college scholarship opportunities and removes barriers that prevent undocumented families from college saving programs.
New York lawmakers are poised to approve legislation known as the Dream Act that would extend state financial aid to students brought into the country illegally as children. The Senate passed the measure on Wednesday, with the Assembly expected to quickly follow. Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo has said he’ll sign the measure.
The legislation was first introduced in 2013 by Senator José Peralta and then-Assemblyman Francisco Moya as the sponsors in each chamber. The bill had been blocked by Senate Republicans for years but gained new momentum this year when Democrats took control of the chamber.
The Jose Peralta New York Dream Act, which passed with a 40-20 vote, will allow New York children, regardless of immigration status, to qualify for merit-based scholarships and the New York State Tuition Assistance Program if they meet certain criteria. Applicants must have done one of the following: 

• Attended an approved NYS high school for two or more years, graduated from an approved NYS high school and applied for attendance to a NYS college or university within five years of receiving their NYS high school diploma; or
• Attended an approved NYS program for a state high school equivalency diploma, received their state high school equivalency diploma and applied for attendance to a NYS college or university within five years of receiving their state high school equivalency diploma; or
• Are otherwise eligible for in-state tuition at SUNY, CUNY or community colleges as prescribed by their admission criteria.

The NY DREAM Act would also provide an easier path to citizenship for undocumented young people who were brought to the U.S. as minors. Federal legislation would offer the eligible green cards, so long as they are enrolled in school or members of the military. After five years, Dreamers could apply for citizenship. 
Reference:
1 New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/nyregion/dream-act-bill-passed.html
2 New York State Assembly: https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A.782&term=2019
3The New York State Senate: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/S1250
https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-majority-passes-jose-peralta-new-york-state-dream-act
4 Gothamist News : http://gothamist.com/2018/10/05/nys_dream_act_midterms.php http://gothamist.com/2019/01/24/dream_act_new-york.php
 

The 2018 Open Doors Report, released November13, 2018 by the not-for-profit research group Institute of International Education (IIE) and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), shows that Taiwan students in USA increase for third consecutive year. The Open Doors Report, compiled annually by the Institute of International Education, is a comprehensive information resource on international students at higher education institutions in the United States, and U.S. students studying abroad for academic credit at colleges or universities. The Open Doors Report for the 2017-18 academic year showed that for the third consecutive year, more than one million international students studied in the United States. The top places of origin for international students studying in the United States were China, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico, and Brazil.  The top host states were California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. 
 
According to the 2018 Open Doors Report, the total number of Taiwan students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities increased for the third year in a row in the 2017-2018 academic year. Taiwan was the seventh largest source of international students in the United States for a fourth consecutive year.  According to the 2018 Open Doors Report, there were 22,454 Taiwan students enrolled at U.S. institutions, an increase of 4.4 percent over the prior year.
 
During the 2017-2018 academic year, the largest portion of Taiwan students in the United States (41.1 percent) were enrolled in graduate study.  Over 31 percent of all Taiwan students in the United States were undergraduates, a 7 percent increase over the prior year; 20 percent of Taiwan students participated in Optional Practical Training (OPT) programs (an increase of 6.5 percent).  Taiwan student numbers increased at all levels except non-degree programs.  7.7 percent of all Taiwan students enrolled in non-degree programs, a decrease of 4.4 percent from the previous year.
 
 

Reference:

1.  Institute of International Education website  https://www.iie.org/opendoors

2   Open Doors Report https://www.iie.org/en/Research-and-Insights/Open-Doors
3    U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs 
https://eca.state.gov/
4   American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) https://www.ait.org.tw/2018-open-doors-report-on-international-educational-exchange/
 
 
 

November 13 Tuesday, Amazon announced that it has selected New York City and Arlington, Virginia, as the locations for our new headquarters. The two new second headquarters will be split between Long Island City in Queens and Arlington County, Virginia's Crystal City. Amazon also announced that it will invest $5 billion and create more than 50,000 jobs across the two new headquarters locations, with more than 25,000 employees each in New York City and Arlington. The new locations will join Seattle as the company’s three headquarters in North America.
 
In addition, Amazon announced that it has selected Nashville for a new Center of Excellence for its Operations business, which is responsible for the company’s customer fulfillment, transportation, supply chain, and other similar activities. The Operations Center of Excellence in Nashville will create more than 5,000 jobs.
 
There's been intense competition to win over Amazon, with more than 100 cities across the country competing and some throwing billions in tax incentives to the company. Amazon started to hunt for a second headquarters in September 2017, initially receiving 238 proposals before narrowing the list to 20 in January, 2018. The company stipulated that it was seeking to be near a metropolitan area with more than a million people; be able to attract top technical talent; be within 45 minutes of an international airport; have direct access to mass transit; and be able to expand the headquarters to as much as 8 million square feet in the next decade. Long Island City and Crystal City met Amazon's requirements for the new headquarters.
 
Amazon’s investments in each new headquarters will spur the creation of tens of thousands of additional jobs in the surrounding communities. Hiring at both the new headquarters will begin in 2019.  The Operations Center of Excellence will be located in downtown Nashville as part of a new development site just north of the Gulch, and hiring will also begin in 2019.
The announcement capped a frenzied competition among nearly 240 communities across the country. Many politicians saw it as an opportunity to remake their city or a neighborhood for the tech era. Some economists and policymakers warned against using public money to help one of the most valuable companies in the world, and of the potential for escalating housing costs and traffic.
Reference:
1 Amazon : https://blog.aboutamazon.com/company-news/amazon-selects-new-york-city-and-northern-virginia-for-new-headquarters
2 New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/05/technology/amazon-second-headquarters-split.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/13/technology/amazon-hq2-headquarters.html
3ABC News:
https://abc7ny.com/business/amazon-selects-nyc-as-1-of-2-new-headquarters/4677312/?fbclid=IwAR2MOsPWsKIT3T3w6IwUElhJ5y7IFGb7S1pb0psoNKpM_SOVGCTlETbtfyc
4CNBC News:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/17/amazon-hq-long-island-city-is-cool-nyc-neighborhood-for-young-people.html