TAIMUN 12th Press 2014
Taiwan Model United Nations
1. Welcome to Taiwan Model United Nations & Taichung City!
By: Jenny Luk, American School in Taichung
Welcome to TAIMUN, an annually-held conference taking place in the bustling city life of Taichung. While some may be interested in looking chic and hot, and others ready to use their pick-up lines that they’ve planned for the past few months, like “I'm Hungary for Djibouti” or “I’d Czech your Republic”, but on a serious note, TAIMUN is renowned for its rewarding experience. The conference provides a chance in bettering and changing the lives of students all over Asia. Its significance of bringing in schools from all over and outside of Taiwan helps students by “promoting global awareness, exploring future careers and building long lasting friendships,” as stated by former TAIMUN Xl Secretary-General Emily Lu. As brilliant as it sounds, this will be AST’s twelfth conference held in the city.
Emily Lu has recently been entitled to the position of Secretary General in the MUN hosted by University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Like her, former participants of TAIMUN have also proceeded to expand their MUN experience in college. One of the TAIMUN participants have recently chaired for Berkeley MUN, a conference older than that of Harvard’s. Another chaired in LIMUN, the largest university MUN in Europe. Impressive as it gets, American School in Taichung (AST) has also increased its professional outlook in expanding the number of committees and participants.
This year, AST has gathered a hundred more students than last year, now a total of four hundred students. With the goal of simulating the real united nations and the help of the administration team, AST has put together two new committees: International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Delegates of the two exciting new committees will be settling international disputes in ICJ and censoring nuclear power plants for good protocols. While all participants are anticipating this all-new-all-fresh conference, the student body has been in constant practice to perfect their positions and looking forward to show off their skills. For the next two days of conference, participants could also enjoy the hectic night life of most Taichung citizens.
Interconnected to the rest of city, the downtown solely located on Wen Hsin road is only a ten minute drive away from many other popular places of Taichung. In the past year, Taichung has developed significantly in having more parks like the Maple Garden (秋紅谷) and buildings with lovely city lights for people to stroll around in. Other than that, most people would recommend Taichung’s night markets like Yi-Zhong and Feng-Jia for food, as well as department stores like Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, Tiger City, and Top City for shopping and movie-watching. Also, the Calligraphy Greenway (草悟道), a beautiful scenic parkway in the morning and at night for both friends and family to hang out in is one of the must-visit place. For more information on go-to places of Taichung, make sure you find yourself either a hardcopy of Taichung’s Compass magazine or a digital-online copy from the website! There you will find restaurants of different cultural tastes. One last reminder about food, make sure you stop by one of Taichung’s best place to get asian breakfast, Nei Hu Lai Lai Soy Milk (內湖來來豆漿).
Before you all get too excited for what Taichung has to offer, make sure you get a good night’s beauty sleep for what’s to come. As TAIMUN XII approach, Emily Lu happily regards newcomers and other participants with a kind welcome, “Everything you gain from TAIMUN will benefit you not only in your secondary education but also in your post-secondary division. Thus, cherish this experience because your voices are future's best seeds for hope.” The two conference days of TAIMUN XII will undoubtedly be the best time of your life.
2. Your Keynote Speaker, Mrs. Graciela Gomez Garcia:
“I expect them to realize that they can indeed change the world.”
By: Ailie Wu, American School in Taichung
World Peace is a goal every single person on this planet hopes to achieve. Because every individual and various nations have their needs and wants, understanding amongst nations is infinitely difficult to achieve.
Currently working as the Deputy Consul General of Mexico, Mrs. Graciela Gomez Garcia specializes in International relations in order to make this global dream come true. This year, TAIMUN XII conference has the honor to welcome her as our highly respected keynote speaker.
Mrs. Garcia was inspired to become a diplomat at a young age. When she was fourteen years old, she had her first visit to the United Nations headquarters in New York. She immediately fell in love with their dream to promote international peace and understanding amongst nations. Ever since then, she has “never looked back.”
A woman of great passion for peacemaking, Mrs. Garcia especially focuses on working against transnational organized crime such as “drug-trafficking, money laundering, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, arms trafficking, and illegal trade in cultural goods, commodities and endangered species.”
Mrs. Garcia’s biggest concern is the ceaseless growing body of the transnational organized crime organizations and the diversity of their actions today. She strongly feels the need to send clear message around the world that the international community will be fighting these criminals no matter where they go to “bring them to justice and make them pay for their illicit actions.”
“I am convinced that as human beings we have more in common than that which separates us,” says Mrs. Garcia. She believes that with the help of words and dialogue, this world can reach “mutual [satisfaction] and peaceful solutions.” She also believes it is the job of a diplomat to listen to people to build bridges between countries.
Mrs. Garcia developed interest in international relationship at young age. When she was at three, her family had moved to Venezuela where she attended a school with children from different corners of the world. Interacting with her peers made her curious about different languages, histories, and religions and cuisine, which inspired her to be who she is today. In her personal life, Mrs. Garcia is a mom of four sons, who she notes as her “inspiration.” Family life aside, she loves fashion, cooking, and going to movies. She is also a big fan of football.
As the keynote speaker for TAMUN XII conference, Mrs. Garcia looks forward to sharing her experiences with “young men and women who might be future leaders of their countries.” She believes education has the potential to create new leaders who might change the world. Mrs. Garcia personally has been part of United Nations model when she was working as a college lecturer long ago. She highly remarks MUNs as an educational opportunity which allows “students to identify themselves with others ideals and beliefs, to define and defend their positions,” which she believes is an absolutely necessary skills that allow students to walk on through life.
When asked what she was most looking forward to in TAIMUN XII conference, Mrs. Garcia noted, “ I expect [all participants] to realize that they can indeed change the world.”
3. Introducing your Secretary General and Deputy SGs
By: Ailie Wu, American School in Taichung
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way,” John c. Maxwell once said. The Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General of TAIMUN XII conference certainly have what it takes to be such leaders. This year, AST welcomes Herriet Hsieh, Grace Lin, and Jeffery Chang as the SG and DSGs of TAIMUN XII.
“Diligent” best describes our SG this year. As one of the most hardworking students, Herriet has been a life-long participant in MUN conferences, as this year would be her fourth year attending an MUN conference. Last year, she was the co-chair of ECOSOC committee where she obtained leadership skills. “Being the leader feels exciting but inevitably comes with a lot of responsibility,” says Herriet. Besides TAIMUN, she has attended THAIMUN, TASMUN, and SHIMUN. Bringing in something fresh, MUN has expanded its size by including new schools and new committees. Herriet therefore feels the need to make this event more successful. “I hope all the participants, including myself, can be enthusiastic about every moment of this event,” Herriet expesses. As a senior, Herriet also wishes to participate in MUN conferences in college.
On a side note, Herriet enjoys reading, listening to music, watching movies, and and especially loves watching TV, where she enjoys Game of Thrones and BBC Sherlock.
Our Deputy Secretary-General is “experienced” when it comes to MUN conferences. Grace first participated in MUN conference as a Deputy President of Security Council in TAIMUN VIII (2010). The following year, she worked as a Chair of Environmental committee. Grace continued to gain her experience and polish her MUN skills through trying out various positions each year. She has not only participated as a delegate twice, but also as an Administration Staff and an Ambassador of UNCLOS in THIMUN. As her last year to participate in TAIMUN, Grace feels “honored to be working with selected few student officers around Taiwan and even beyond the island,” as a Deputy Secretary-General. Grace is interested to see how having three Secretary-Generals will affect the smoothness of the conference, and how successful the adjustments from TAIMUN XI would bring to TAIMUN XII. Interestingly, our Deputy Secretary-General has a unique hobby: to collect shoes. “All sorts of shoes – kicks, pumps, stilettos, you name it, I have it,” says Grace.
Our Deputy Secretary-General this year can be best described as “friendly,” which is one of the essential characters of a leader. Jeffery Chang had his MUN debut as a press member in AST when he was only in seventh grade. He continued his job as a press member next year, where he observed plenty of debates and committees. Although he has never been a delegate in TAIMUN, he has participated in conferences that TAIMUN was associated to, including THIMUN as a chair, and TASMUN as other positions.
Jeffery describes his new position in TAIMUN XII as “…definitely a worthy experience” and feels “really accomplished to be able to serve as this position.” Jeffery is specifically looking forward to the ICJ court case between North and South Korea. Branching off his pleasure in the MUN field, he also enjoys academic activities such as forensic debate and participating in International Public Policy Forum even during his free time. He also enjoys sports such as skating, skateboarding, surfing, biking, and playing instruments including piano, violin, and drum set.
