New Southbound S&T Cooperation Website Logo

Century-Old History between NCNU and Myanmar

As the organizer of the University Entrance Committee for Overseas Chinese Students, National Chi Nan University (NCNU) has been recruiting students annually in Myanmar for the past 20 years. The long-standing ties compelled former NCNU president Yuhlong Oliver Su to undertake the Overseas Science and Technology Innovation Center (STIC) project of Ministry of Science and Technology in Myanmar. To deepen cooperation in scientific research and in talent cultivation between Taiwan and Myanmar, NCNU established Taiwan-Myanmar Overseas Economic Survey Research Center with its local partner, Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), which was founded in 1919, headquartered in Yangon, and numbered over 30,000 members. The joint effort, in compliance with the Taiwanese government’s New Southbound Policy, led to more than ten visits with over 100 people traveling between the two regions from 2018 to 2019.

Grand Opening of EBRD

The STIC project has strengthened the trust between NCNU and UMFCCI. On November 20, 2019, preparations were finished for the overseas center to launch officially. The center was named Economic and Business Research Database Unit (EBRD) by UMFCCI President Consultant U Myint Aung. The EBRD office is an 83-square-meter space allocated from a modernized UMFCCI office building in downtown Yangon. Just when the program was about to fully unfold, COVID-19 wreaked havoc across the globe in early 2020, impeding international exchange of personnel as the once taken-for granted international air travel was forced to shut down. People used to actually cross borders to promote cross-border affairs with the warmth of face-to-face interactions. Since that turned out to be impracticable, online communication such as teleconferences became the only way of communication all year round in 2020.

Group photo of the EBRD team and guests on the opening ceremony on November 20, 2019

EBRD is located on the third floor of the modernized UMFCCI building in downtown Yangon.

Far-Flung Realms as Next Door

The STIC project mainly involves commerce industry survey conducted face to face by investigators with questionnaires. To ensure detailed and trustworthy data capture, the questionnaire format is modeled after the Industry and Service Census of Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan. With the rigorous questionnaire design, investigators should carry out the survey in person and record the responses through an electronic questionnaire software program developed by Academia Sinica on tablets for future analysis. However, such cutting-edge data collection method served no purpose in the time of COVID when Myanmar was under tight lockdown restrictions for almost the entire 2020. Both international and domestic borders were closed; even intercity travel was not allowed. On top of that, companies in the commerce industry minimized visitor entry, bringing survey work to a halt. The survey team tried to adapt by switching to phone surveys but failed due to the complexity of the questionnaire and the uncertain economic outlook that decreased participation willingness.

Survey team of NCNU’s STIC project

Over the year, COVID-19 prevented STIC project members in NCNU to communicate face-to-face with the Myanmar partners. However, thanks to the internet and the prevalence of smartphones, the Chinese idiom “far-flung realms as next door” (天涯若比鄰) became a reality. Discussions were held screen-to-screen instead of face-to-face, and with proper internet connection, instantaneous communication was possible no matter the place. When EBRD was first founded, it had been taken into consideration that there would be intensive discussions on cross-national collaborations, be they on questionnaire design, investigator training, information analysis, or researcher employment. Therefore, EBRD was already equipped with video conferencing hardware, although the instant use of it was unexpected. During the pandemic, NCNU and UMFCCI scheduled monthly online meetings to ensure uninterrupted idea exchange. Even though the actual survey work were on pause, the trust between NCNU and UMFCCI had not been shaken; better yet, members of the two kept reminding each other to plan ahead for when the borders reopened.

AV equipment testing on EBRD’s opening day by NCNU and attending members of the ceremony in Yangon

A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed

While the pandemic was at its peak in 2020, Yuhlong Oliver Su reached out in response to the government’s call to offer foreign aid, and asked if UMFCCI needed any disease control supplies. After discussions between the two parties, it was decided that NCNU would provide a thermal detector which was then placed at the UMFCCI headquarter for access control and the security of EBRD members. The device was an advanced model made in Taiwan that can measure the temperature of up to 20 objects within three meters. On the morning of November 12, 2020, Su and UMFCCI President Zaw Min Win cohosted a hybrid conference, virtual attendees of which included Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in Myanmar Charles C Li, while live attendees included Director General Ying-ming Wong and First Secretary on Home Assignment Albert Yeh of Central Taiwan Office. UMFCCI Vice President Myo Thet, who was the Myanmar representative in Taiwan, as well as his colleagues from different divisions also joined the meeting virtually. Zaw Min Win and Myo Thet both expressed their appreciation for the thermal detector and showed how it looked at work. According to Su, the device was a token of amity because “a friend in need is a friend indeed.”

Thermal detector gifted from NCNU at the UMFCCI headquarter entrance

Hand-signed thank-you letter from UMFCCI President Zaw Min Win for the thermal detector from NCNU in the time of coronavirus

Li asserted that Taiwan’s representative office in Myanmar would provide all help necessary for the overseas center, in the hope of bringing the two partners closer together. Wong stated that long-time collaboration between Central Taiwan Office and NCNU on Myanmar affairs had laid the groundwork of possible, broader cooperation. NCNU and UMFCCI reported separately on concrete results of the STIC project in the past two years, and exchanged ideas on survey conduction and suggestions for future plans. One proposal was co-establishing an education institute offering online and offline courses for both public and private sector personnel to increase Myanmar’s human capital; another was for UMFCCI to keep considering co-founding a research center analyzing policies with the EBRD database regularly for public reference. Before the conference adjourned, Su showed good faith by inviting Myo Thet to Taiwan and promising that NCNU would provide a quarantine accommodation upon his arrival. 

NCNU and UMFCCI’s Video conference on the morning of November 12, 2020, attendees from NCNU including former President Yuhlong Oliver Su, Dean of College of Management Chien-Liang Chen, Chair of Master/PhD Program in Strategy and Development of Emerging Industries Peng-Yeng Yin, Chair of Department of International Business Studies Ching-I Chen, Chair of Department of Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management You-De Dai, Chief of Division of Overseas Chinese Educational and Mainland China Affairs of Office of International and Cross-Strait Affairs Sheer Lee, EBRD Office Manager Kate Lee, and Burmese NCNU PhD student and Senior Researcher Thawdar Htwe.

Taiwan and Myanmar Representatives Made Honorary Alumni

Chun-Fu Chang, representative of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Myanmar, and Myo Thet, representative of Myanmar Trade Office, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, were the key persons behind why Myanmar had agreed to surveys on economic issues to be carried out in the country. It was due to their effort and coordination that the STIC project was even possible. In order to show recognition of their contribution, NCNU named them honorary alumni. The awards ceremony was scheduled in June, 2016, but then was postponed repeatedly because of the pandemic. Since there was no way to predict when the borders would reopen, the ceremony was eventually hosted on January 16, 2021.

Chun-Fu Chang, who attended the ceremony with his wife, said in his speech that the overseas center and Taiwan’s representative office in Myanmar had joined forces to improve the quality of scientific research in Taiwan and Myanmar, and the same went for higher education, talent cultivation, and business interaction. He also mentioned that the overseas center had played an indispensable role in the increased and broadened unofficial communication between the two parties. Myo Thet, despite not being able to attend in person, recorded a five-minute speech to express his high hopes for EBRD and continued, deep collaborations in addition to his gratitude for the award, which he had appointed Thawdar Htwe to accept on his behalf. Thawdar Htwe is the first Myanmar woman to have received a scholarship from the Ministry of Education, Taiwan, and is currently studying her PhD in College of Management, NCNU.

Chun-Fu Chang receiving the honarary degree plaque from Yuhlong Oliver Su

Chun-Fu Chang and his wife at the awards ceremony

Myo Thet giving his honorary alumnus acceptance speech

Thawdar Htwe receiving the honarary degree plaque on behalf of Myo Thet

Looking Forward to In-Person Gatherings

COVID-19 may have put EBRD’s plans on hold, but the trying time has only strengthen the bond between Taiwan and Myanmar, as NCNU and UMFCCI are pushing through the adversity together and mapping out the post-pandemic future. Although the civil unrest in Myanmar has added another layer of uncertainty, it is comforting that all the members have reported safe and sound. Hopefully, the political and healthcare crises will soon be resolved. We eagerly await the day both parties meet in person again.

Author：Prof. Chien-Liang Chen（Dean of College of Management at National Chi Nan University）

STICs Center：Taiwan-Myanmar Economic Survey Overseas Science and Technology Innovation Center