In the afternoon of Youth Day, 29th of March, a large number of enthusiastic young people packed the Auditorium at National Tsing Hua University to listen to speeches given by President Ma Ying-jeou and pop artist Wang Leehom. In their speeches, these two leading figures shared their personal experiences of pursuing their dreams and encouraged the young people to pursue theirs as well.

President Ma expressed his hope that the young people would become caring citizens who would contribute to society by striving to realize their dreams. Wang Leehom spoke about learning to understand one's dreams and getting ready to pursue them with confidence. The event had a charged atmosphere with the audience eager to interact with the two celebrities.

On behalf of all NTHU members, President Lih J. Chen expressed everyone's excitement over this event, in welcoming the two famous guests. He thanked President Ma for his ongoing support of NTHU. In February this year, President Ma visited the former President of NTHU, Chun-Shan Shen; at the beginning of March President Ma endorsed the Meichu Game between NTHU and National Chiao Tung University; and on April 24th President Ma will again visit NTHU to celebrate the Centennial Anniversary of Tsing Hua.

Introducing Wang Leehom and his association with NTHU, President Chen said "I have done my homework on Wang Leehom's background!" He spoke about a number of Wang Leehom's relatives who are NTHU alumni, including his grandmother, great aunt, uncle and great uncle. Given the strong connection Wang Leehom has with NTHU, President Chen said he is a natural friend and supporter of NTHU.

The host of the event, former President Dr. Chung Laung Liu welcomed the two guests onto the stage by introducing them as "role models for young people," and "national heartthrobs!" Dr. Liu created a lighthearted and interesting atmosphere with his witty and humorous comments. The two guests, dressed in smart-casual jacket and jeans, created mayhem amongst the students when they entered the hall.

To make the topic of his speech more interesting and interactive, President Ma showed everyone the Taiwan ROC Centennial documentary film: The Story of Revolutionary Martyr Lin Jue-min. He went on to explain that in all historical eras we continue to see young people in various countries who are just like Lin Juemin; filled with passion, committed to their ideal, and willing to take action to realize them. As one gets older, one's viewpoints change, which in turn changes goals and dreams.

President Ma emphasized that not only do people from Taiwan continue to perform outstandingly when compared with their peers worldwide, but their actions and achievements further demonstrate Taiwan's soft power. Such achievements were seen in recent successes achieved by a Taiwanese extreme marathon runner, an award-winning chef, a golfer and tennis player. President Ma encouraged young people to have the courage to dream and create soft power by pursuing their dreams.

In addition, President Ma spoke of the importance of language, and how language is a tool to increase one's competitiveness. This means a substantial amount of effort must be invested in foreign language education and the internationalization of universities. As the Chinese saying goes: 'He who travels far, knows much'; this is the reason that young people should strive to gain experience by travelling abroad.

President Ma encouraged students to participate in the International Youth Ambassador Exchange Program organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This program enables young people to learn about and embrace other cultures, which is an essential element in becoming leaders of the future. President Ma said nowadays an increasing number of young people play the role of 'cultural ambassadors' for Taiwan; they demonstrate Taiwan's core values as a country and its care for other members of the international community. As a result of their efforts, Taiwan has become, and will continue to be, a nation that touches people's hearts and wins people's respect.

Wang Leehom told the story of his career and dreams. At the age of 24 his first album was released and he had the dream of developing a brand new musical style and creating a new trend for the music industry in the Chinese community. As time went on, his dream evolved with his age and experience. He urged young people in the audience to listen to their hearts to discover what their dreams are and pursue them unerringly. Moreover, Wang Leehom recognized the importance of having an international outlook in order to appreciate different cultures. On the issue of modern youth having too many options resulting in indecisiveness, Wang Leehom stressed that young people must have clear ideas about what they want and what skills and assets they possess. The secret is to pursue their dreams once they feel prepared and ready. Though one may encounter setbacks along the way, the most important part of the learning process is to overcome these hurdles and learn from such experiences.

President Ma reiterated that passion and enthusiasm in young people are precious characteristics. The recent instances of young people pursuing and realizing their dreams are examples of how creativities lead to innovativeness, revolutionary thinking and soft power. To emphasize this observation, Wang Leehom recalls how deeply he was moved by one of President Ma's comments at a dinner party some time ago. President Ma, who was Mayor of Taipei at the time, said soft power is the key asset that would allow Taiwan to shine on the world stage. This view has been borne out as we see the Chinese community growing stronger day by day, and more and more opportunities becoming available to young people today.