The Office of International and Cross-Strait Affairs held the inauguration and ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Tamkang–Reitaku Center at 11 a.m. on September 26 on the first floor of the Foreign Languages Building. Reitaku University Chairman Mototaka Hiroike and his wife, Vice President Yoshikazu Hiroike, and Presidential Assistant Kazunobu Horiuchi attended the ceremony, together with Tamkang University President Huan-Chao Keh, Chairperson Flora Chia-I Chang, three Vice Presidents Hui-Huang Hsu, Chun-Hung Lin, and Hsiao-Chuan Chen, as well as Presidential Office Secretary Charles Hsiang-Chuan Chang, senior administrators, and faculty and students from the Department of Japanese. The event was solemn yet warm, highlighted by the joint ribbon-cutting ceremony, which included Chairperson Chang, President Keh, Vice President Chen, Secretary Chang, Chairman Hiroike and his wife, Vice President Hiroike, and Assistant Horiuchi, all accompanied by enthusiastic applause.
The Tamkang–Reitaku Center derives its name from both universities and originates from the I Ching phrase: “Lize, Dui; the gentleman engages in mutual learning with friends” (「麗澤，兌；君子以朋友講習」), symbolizing mutual learning and value creation between the two institutions. The Center will serve as Tamkang University’s dedicated platform for promoting academic and cultural exchange with Reitaku University, providing faculty and students with an enhanced space for interaction and research, thereby deepening bilateral collaboration. Reitaku University’s own Tamkang–Reitaku Center was inaugurated earlier in March during President Keh’s visit to Japan.
In his speech, President Keh recalled that in July 1981, Tamkang University’s founder and then-president, Dr. Clement C.P. Chang, led a delegation to Reitaku University to sign an agreement on student exchange programs, followed by the official establishment of the sister-university relationship the following year. Over the past 40 years, exchanges between the two universities have flourished, not only through mutual student exchanges but also through Reitaku University’s long-term program of sending students to Tamkang to study Chinese and participate in club, athletic, and cultural activities. The completion of Reitaku International House in 1989 and the launch of the Junior Abroad program by the Department of Japanese in 1993 marked important milestones. To date, about 700 Reitaku students and 1,250 Tamkang students have participated in exchange programs, symbolizing the enduring friendship between the two institutions. President Keh emphasized that the inauguration of the Tamkang–Reitaku Center not only represents the deep bond between the two universities but also serves as an important platform for future faculty and student exchanges, academic cooperation, and cultural interaction.
Chairman Mototaka Hiroike, in his remarks, expressed gratitude for Tamkang University’s warm hospitality. He noted that on May 15 of this year, Reitaku University conferred an honorary doctorate on Chairperson Flora Chia-I Chang, whose speech elaborating on Tamkang’s educational philosophy of “Globalization, Information-Oriented Education, and Future-Oriented Education” deeply moved the entire audience and left a lasting impression on him. He also thanked Tamkang for its support in providing Chinese-language education to Reitaku’s exchange students and for assisting in completing the Japanese government-commissioned interviews with “Japanese war orphans repatriated,” which strengthened the bond between the two universities. Chairman Hiroike said he was honored to witness the inauguration of the Center, emphasizing that its establishment symbolizes the continuation and deepening of the friendship between the two universities, and expressed his hope for continued collaboration in nurturing talent and contributing to society, the nation, and the world.
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