Northern California Overseas Taiwanese Students Association Spring Dinner Gathering to Share Hometown Sentiments

The Northern California Overseas Chinese Student Association held a Lunar New Year banquet on March 18th at Miao Bida in the South Bay, attracting nearly 70 overseas Chinese students, friends of overseas Chinese students, and leaders from the Bay Area overseas Chinese community. Participants gathered to celebrate, share experiences, and engage in lively discussions, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

The Northern California Overseas Chinese Student Association was established in 1998, initiated by Tan Yicai who contacted several enthusiastic senior overseas Chinese students in the Bay Area. Since 2000, the association has set up the “Outstanding Overseas Chinese Student Scholarship Fund” to reward outstanding overseas students studying in Taiwan. In 2009, the “Financially Challenged Overseas Chinese Student Assistance Fund” was further established to provide support for economically disadvantaged students, encouraging them to strive for academic success. The scholarships raised each year are reviewed and distributed by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission.

During his speech, Tan Yicai, the president of the Northern California Overseas Chinese Student Association, expressed gratitude for everyone’s support and assistance, enabling the association to continuously serve overseas Chinese students since the Taiwan 921 earthquake. Despite the simple setting of the event without stage performances, there was music, laughter, and most importantly, meaningful interactions and shared joyous moments among attendees.

Zhu Yongchang, the Deputy Director of the Taiwan Representative Office in San Francisco, noted that the overseas Chinese student policy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) had attracted students from Hong Kong, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, and other places to study in Taiwan, forging strong bonds with the island. The opportunity for everyone to reunite on this day was truly special.

He thanked Tan Yicai and the predecessors for establishing the association in 1998, which has become an important platform for connecting ancestral relationships and exchanging ideas for Taiwan’s development over the past twenty years. The association not only consolidates cohesive forces but also provides long-term support for the Republic of China and the office’s activities, rallying fellow overseas Chinese to enhance cohesion.

He also extended special appreciation to the association for its long-term care for overseas Chinese students, providing scholarships and grants to help younger students study in Taiwan without worries. Such dedication is admirable and greatly appreciated.

Chuang Yashu, the director of the Overseas Chinese Education Center, mentioned that the Northern California Overseas Chinese Student Association is a vital pillar of the overseas Chinese community and has long supported the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission’s student policies. Whether through scholarships or assistance funds, the association has helped many financially challenged overseas Chinese students realize their dreams in Taiwan. She particularly thanked the association for its support and cooperation in overseas Chinese affairs.

She pointed out that the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission has been promoting its student policy for over sixty years, connecting outstanding overseas Chinese students from various regions worldwide and transforming lives through education. In Southeast Asia and Northern California, numerous talented individuals have been nurtured, contributing significantly to the overseas Chinese community. She also introduced the iQiao card to attendees.

The policy for Taiwan’s overseas Chinese students has been in place for over 70 years, producing over 160,000 graduate overseas students and more than 20,000 alumni from the Overseas Youth Class. Among them, Zhang Zhaokang, the 2022 Global Outstanding Overseas Chinese Student Alumni (Business and Commerce Category), currently serves as the President of Phoenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. During the banquet, he shared his personal growth experiences and study journey with Epoch Times.

He recounted that in the 1950s, there were over a million Chinese in Saigon, Vietnam, belonging to different Chinese associations such as the Guangzhou, Fujian, Hainan, Chaozhou, and Hakka associations, each with Chinese schools, hospitals, and cemeteries. Since his birth in 1942, he attended a Chinese school where overseas Chinese students learned Chinese.

Zhang Zhaokang went to Taiwan for a complete Chinese education and pursued further studies in Canada and the United States after graduating from university in 1965.

In 1994, he founded Phoenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. in the San Francisco Bay Area, focusing on human hormone peptides and the development and sales of related bioproducts. He expressed his gratitude for the government’s scholarship support during their studies in Taiwan, allowing them to successfully complete their education. Taiwan’s overseas student policy has indeed been beneficial, cultivating many outstanding students, all of whom remain grateful and mindful of their roots.

At the banquet, Zheng Zuoming, former president of the San Francisco Bay Area Chinese Writers Association, shared his family story. His mother was an overseas Chinese student who worked at IBM for 40 years before retiring and then delving into writing, having published three English novels to date.

Zheng Zuoming’s grandfather, Zhang Yongfu, served as the second president of the Xingzhong Society. After the Southward Expedition Uprising, around 800 revolutionary martyrs were detained by the French Consulate. To rescue these martyrs, his grandfather selflessly paid $750 per martyr to secure their release. At that time, the average American wage was only $1 per month, equivalent to a staggering amount of nearly $5 billion today.

After securing the release of the martyrs, his grandfather arranged for some individuals to work in Singapore, eventually leading to bankruptcy. Zheng Zuoming mentioned that visiting the Sun Yat-sen Nanyang Memorial Hall in Singapore would be a part of his family’s history.

A video retrospective of the Overseas Chinese Student Association was specially played during the banquet, guiding attendees through past memories and reliving the good times. Subsequently, everyone joyfully sang karaoke and danced the LINE DANCE together, immersed in a delightful atmosphere. Lastly, under the leadership of Vice President Mao Xiaoling, all alumni and guests sang in unison, marking a successful closure to this warm and laughter-filled Lunar New Year gathering.