The Taiwanese Hokkien song “Bang Chhun-hong,” sung in English with accompaniment from the erhu (a type of two-stringed fiddle), Aboriginal music and dance with the character of Chang’e (the moon Goddess and a central character in Chinese mythology), rap singing in English about the beauty of Taiwan—these performances in fluent English demonstrating the features of Taiwan have recently been showing on the stage of the Teen Diplomatic Envoys (TDE) selection program.

Through visits to other countries, the teen diplomatic envoys are spreading the seeds of diplomacy, building solid bridges of friendship for Taiwan.

Gladys Lee, now 27 years old, is a journalist for Taiwan Television. In 2004, when she was a student at Tai­pei Municipal Song-Shan Senior High School, she competed to take part in the third TDE program.

Lee was a vivacious child who loved trying out all kinds of novel ideas and activities. A regular participant in school activities at Song-Shan High, Lee was selected as senior high school student representative for the fifth Asia–Pacific International Youth and Student Carnival, winning the opportunity for an international student exchange to Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Republic of Buryatia in southern Siberia.

With this experience behind her, Lee developed a passion for international exchange activities that provided opportunities for her to explore her potential and better understand the world around her. In her second year at high school, she heard about TDE through one of her teachers. With her desire to experience the world at first hand, she organized a team of classmates who were also interested in participating.

While most students were immersed in school study, Lee sought guidance from a teacher to prepare for the TDE audition and build the props in her spare time. To highlight the characteristics of Taiwan, the team spent a lot of time discussing their strategies and searching out information. Finally, they decided to use the six letters of the word “Taiwan” as hooks to interpret Taiwan from the perspectives of technology, agriculture and indigenous peoples.

Unfortunately, the team wasn’t selected in the competition, but Lee was quite content as she gained considerable experience. “We didn’t win, but I gained a better understanding of myself and Taiwan, and my self-confidence went through the roof,” says Lee.

In February the following year, Lee participated in the HOBY Taiwan Youth Leadership Camp, and was selected from 100-plus participants to represent Taiwan at the two-week HOBY World Youth Leadership Congress in Washington DC, meeting with more than 400 outstanding young people from around the globe. She found that the issues of concern for representatives from different countries and cultural backgrounds were quite different. For example, those from the Middle East were highly concerned about women’s right to education, while representatives from America and Europe were more focused on economic trends, and Africans tended to pay more attention to health issues.

Lee notes that unlike most Taiwanese senior high school students, who are fully focused on schoolwork, youth from abroad develop an awareness of social issues when they are quite young. This brought home a dramatic realization: although she was young, she wasn’t as helpless or impotent as she had thought—she could make a difference and contribute to the nation.

In her second year of university, Lee joined the Tai­pei Young Women’s Christian Association, and has since been promoted to their board of directors. Despite her busy schedule, she has found the time to help deal with issues on gender equality and domestic violence. As a journalist, this year she will be involved in the reporting of issues from areas such as cross-strait relations and foreign affairs in general.

In the decade since her high-school days, Lee has become interested in a range of diplomatic and international issues. She notes that in the past she disagreed with the notion that one needed proficiency in another language in order to develop a mature international perspective. But with her experience of international exchange activities as well as her journalism work (which takes her abroad on a regular basis), she has come to appreciate that although language skills do not necessarily bring international understanding, they do bring enormous benefits. “A person fluent in another language will better appreciate that country’s history and culture, and thus enhance their international perspective,” says Lee.

Lee says that she had no particular plans for her future when she took part in the international exchange activities. But although that participation didn’t bring immediate gains, all her experiences accumulating piece by piece would benefit her later on in life.

Danny Yang, now a first officer with EVA Air routinely flying people overseas, continues his affection for international travel first nurtured in the TDE program.

Danny Yang is 26 years old. Now a flight crew first officer with EVA Air, Yang took part in the third TDE program when he was a student at National Wu­ling Senior High School.

Because of his father’s job, the family lived in the Middle East until Yang was six years old, so he had plenty of opportunity to learn foreign languages. After the family returned to Taiwan, as a schoolboy he often listened to International Community Radio Tai­pei and read English novels to keep up his English skills.

In his third year of high school, Yang was encouraged by his teacher to participate in the TDE program. With his great love of travel, he grasped the opportunity with both hands despite the fact that his university entrance exams were just around the corner.

After more than three months of preparation and practice, his team won first place in the final, gaining the opportunity to visit Los Angeles. On February 1, 2005, Yang and other 11 envoys traveled to the US, visiting LA city officials, high schools, and government agencies, and exchanging details with student associations.

This experience made Yang more certain about his career choice. In the Designated Subjects Examination (one of the university entrance examinations) in July, 2005, he decided to sit for the first-category exam instead of the third, for which he had prepared. With his result, he gained a place to study finance at National Taiwan University.

As he was so keen to get involved in international activities, in his second year he joined the university’s Model United Nations (MUN) Society. Activities included not only simulations of UN conferences, but also organized visits to the US and mainland China, where the students acted as representatives of different countries, meeting others in mock international conferences.

Back at home, Yang organized MUN camps for senior-high-school students, bringing a taste of the international conference scene to those participants.

After graduation, Yang found a position with McKin­sey & Company, but in 2012 he moved to EVA Air as a flight crew first officer. “At the time, the international exchange program seemed a fun but relatively minor activity, but I realize now that it’s a great opportunity for high-school students to gain experience on the global stage—and to explore their career potential,” says Yang.

Yang’s experience as a teenage diplomat opened the window to the world of international exchange, and now he flies a plane, helping to build an international bridge for the public to connect with the world.

Whether a journalist like Gladys Lee or an airline pilot like Danny Yang, the TDE program has opened windows of opportunity for many young people. Lee, Yang and others like them continue to connect with the world through different paths, bringing their overseas experiences home to Taiwan, and conveying the splendors of Taiwan to the international community.