2025 Taiwanese teen 'diplomats' heading to U.S. cities: FM

Taipei, Aug. 20 (CNA) Taiwan's top diplomat and the United States deputy representative to Taiwan on Wednesday jointly held an event to celebrate a group of Taiwanese high school students who will soon be visiting America as part of an annual government program promoting public diplomacy.

During the "Teen Diplomatic Envoys" program flag ceremony, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) congratulated the 18 high/vocational school students who have been selected to represent Taiwan this year.

Since its initiation in 2002, the Teen Diplomatic Envoys program, which is part of the government push for "youth diplomacy," has sent 63 groups of high school students overseas to help them broaden their international outlook, Lin said.

This year's program is different from previous editions in terms of how the envoys were selected, according to Lin.

Previously, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) opened the program to high/vocational schools countrywide to send their students as a team representing each school, before choosing which school's team would be that year's "Teen Diplomatic Envoys."

This year, the application process was opened to all high school students to apply as individuals, instead of as one team per school, he said.

A total of 180 trainees were later accepted onto a five-day training camp for the program, which offered courses spanning from English language, diplomacy and international affairs, cross-cultural communication, and international exchanges, to help prepare for the upcoming 10-day trip, the minister said.

Then, through a selection process, 18 of the 180 were chosen to become the 2025 teen diplomats, he added.

Meanwhile, Karin M. Lang, who officially took up her post as the new deputy United States representative to Taiwan last week, said in her address that the ceremony on Wednesday was her first public engagement since assuming office.

The deputy director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in Taipei offered her best wishes to the 18 Taiwanese youths.

"Ahead of you lies the opportunity to practice true diplomacy, building bridges. Every meal you share, every story you tell, every friend you make, will help strengthen the bonds between Taiwan and the United States," she said.

"So my message to you is simple: be curious, be bold, be open, ask a lot of questions, and carry with you the pride of representing Taiwan, and a commitment to the future of U.S.-Taiwan relations. And of course, most of all, most important, have fun," she added.

AIT represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties.

According to MOFA, the 18 teen diplomats will be divided into two teams, with one visiting Los Angeles and San Francisco, and the other going to Chicago and Houston, both for 10 days, starting Aug. 23. They will meet with politicians, academics and students, it added.