Students Participate in Premier Leadership Program

The Formosa Foundation & Taiwan Foundation for Democracy Join Forces to Host
Sixth Annual Ambassador Program

LOS ANGELES, June 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Formosa Foundation has
selected 18 future leaders to participate in the sixth year of its
international student ambassador program. The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy
is cosponsoring the highly competitive program aimed at developing outstanding
leaders who are committed to democratic activism. The graduate and
undergraduate fellows, selected from a pool of hundreds, will be in Washington
D.C. from June 16 - June 27, 2008.
"The Ambassador Program offers an unprecedented opportunity for students
to get first-hand exposure to the significant challenges and rewards of
advocating for human rights and democracy," said Terri Giles, the Formosa
Foundation's executive director. "It is our investment in the next
generation."
The Ambassador Program educates tomorrow's leaders about the relationship
between the United States and Taiwan. Throughout the two-week program
Ambassadors participate in a series of workshops and seminars that sharpen
their skills, educate them on the complex political situation in the Taiwan
Strait, and provide them with an in-depth understanding of how U.S. policy is
made.
Giles pointed out that the Ambassador Program "is highly interactive,
allowing participants to immediately apply their newly developed skills to
real life issues." She also said that the program places emphases on
"practices that leaders use to transform values into actions, visions into
realities, obstacles into innovations, separateness into solidarity, and risks
into rewards."
The Ambassador Program is designed to foster leadership in college
students who are interested in promoting better U.S.-Taiwan relations.
Selection criteria include academic achievements, extracurricular activities,
participation in community affairs, and interest in public policy, especially
U.S. foreign policy.
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Congressman David Wu (D-OR) join an
impressive line up of guest speakers that includes: Derek J. Mitchell, senior
fellow for Asia in the Center for Strategic and International Studies'
International Security Program; Mark Stokes, Executive Director of the
Project 2049 Institute; Dan Blumenthal, Resident Fellow at the American
Enterprise Institute; Shirley Kan, Congressional Research Services; Randall
Schriver, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Project 2049 Institute
and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific
Affairs; Rupert Hammond-Chambers, President of the U.S. - Taiwan Business
Council; Dr. Gerrit van der Wees, Senior Policy Analysis, Formosa Association
of Public Affairs; Sue Bremner, Deputy Director of the Office of Taiwan
Coordination, U.S. Department of State; Barbara Jane Schrage, Managing
Director, American Institute in Taiwan; John Tkacik, Senior Research Fellow in
Asian Studies at The Heritage Foundation; Richard Bush, Director of the Center
for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, Brookings Institution; Amy Schuler
Goodwin, CEO and managing member of the Goodwin Group; Dr. Richard Kagan, East
Asian Studies, Hamline University; Stephen Yates, President of DC Asia
Advisory and a Senior Fellow in Asia Studies, American Foreign Policy Council;
Dr. Arthur Waldron, Lauder Professor of International Relations at the
University of Pennsylvania; Carolyn Bartholomew, Vice Chairman of the
U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission; and Dr. Jaushieh Joseph
Wu, Taiwan Representative to the United States.
Since its inception in 2003, 130 young people have successfully graduated
from the Ambassador Program. Over the past five years, Ambassadors have held
657 meetings with members of Congress and their staff helping to change the
hearts and minds of elected leaders in Washington.
The Formosa Foundation is a non-profit entity based in Los Angeles that
dedicates itself to the advancement of human rights, democracy, and the right
to self-determination of the people of Taiwan. The Foundation is committed to
fostering better understanding and international cooperation between the
United States and Taiwan through sustained educational and advocacy efforts.
The Formosa Foundation supports peace, freedom and vibrant regional, economic
and cultural relations that are the cornerstones for long-term stability in
East Asia.
The Taiwan Foundation for Democracy was created in 2002 with the mission
of playing a positive role in consolidating Taiwan's democracy and fortifying
its commitment to human rights both nationally and internationally.

2008 Ambassadors

Ambassador School Hometown

Christina Chang UC Irvine Trabuco Canyon, CA
Kerry Chang University of Illinois Schaumburg, IL
Janis Wen-Chieh Chen National Cheng Kung
University Taoyuan, Taiwan
Kevin Chen California Polytech at
Pomona Diamond Bar,CA
Tsung-Yen Chen Stanford University Taoyuan, Taiwan
Julia Famularo Georgetown University Bethany, CT
Han-Hsien Hsieh UCLA West Covina, CA
Carrie Hsu Georgia Tech Knoxville, TN
Ellen Tzu-Chun Kuo European Institute Taichung, Taiwan
Amy Fay Lin University of Texas Sugar Land, TX
Joseph Lin New York University Bayside, NY
Richard Lin MIT Taipei, Taiwan
Erica Ling UC San Diego Hacienda Heights, CA
Winifred Liu National Kaohsiung First
University Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Corey Sanderson Indiana Univ. of PA Pittsburgh, PA
Sean Su New York University Woodhaven, NY
Karen Yang UC San Diego Fountain Valley, CA
Rebecca Yeh Columbia University Parsippany, NJ

SOURCE The Formosa Foundation

Amy Lin of The Formosa Foundation, +1-213-820-2489,
amylin@formosafoundation.org