There are eleven chapters of the Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors (FASCA) throughout the United States and Canada. They all have the same goal: "build up connection between the second and third generation overseas compatriot youth and Taiwan through various educational training courses" and "advance overseas youth's understanding on Taiwan as well as cultivate potential young talents to help promote Taiwan through public diplomacy" . The FASCA program was initiated in 2011, and the most senior members that attended this year's Senior FASCA Training Conference in the Western United States joined FASCA back in 2013.
Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) Chief Secretary Liang-Ming Chang traveled all the way from Taiwan to observe the Senior FASCA Training Conference in the Western United States held in Los Angeles from August 26th to 28th. The conference consisted of multiple seminars from professionals of different specialties and even a trip to The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites (Los Angeles), Universal Studios CityWalk, and Hollywood Walk of Fame.
FASCA Los Angeles Advisor Jennifer Hsu, and Advisor Tony Chen from FASCA San Francisco Bay Area accompanied the members of Senior FASCA for the entirety of the three-day conference. The FASCA chapters that attended the conference were Seattle, San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA), Los Angeles (LA), Orange County (OC), and Vancouver. The twenty-two Senior FASCA members who attended the attendance ranged in age, several members having graduated college and receiving degrees in higher education, and a few of the youngest members being seniors in high school.
An important seminar that Senior FASCA got to experience was the WHO/WHA Talk: Paving the Road to WHA, which was presented by Simon Lin, Executive Director of the Taiwan Center in Greater Los Angeles on August 28th. OCAC Chief Secretary Liang-Ming Chang showed his support for the important seminar topic, giving an introduction to why it is important for the Republic of Taiwan to be included in the World Health Association (WHA) for the sake of world health. Executive Director Lin gave the audience a detailed look at the difficult path that Taiwan has had to take to attempt to rejoin the WHA after being unfairly expelled back in 1971. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan was globally recognized for being one of the best countries in handling cases and preventing the spread of COVID within the country. He told Senior FASCA that his dream is for the Republic of China to be able to join the WHA again. The audience was left to ponder the ways in which more awareness of the issue could be promoted. The biggest takeaway was that we must be persistent in our endeavors in order for our voices to be heard.
Congratulations to this year's Senior FASCA Training Conference members on successfully completing the three-day intensive conference. Special mention to members of FASCA LA for making everyone from other chapters feel at ease throughout the conference!
