A group of teachers and students from Yue-Ming Elementary and Junior High School in Yilan County will sail around Taiwan during their summer holiday. President Lai Ching-Te (賴清德) attended Friday’s launch ceremony of the trip subtitled "Together in creation, sailing towards new horizons," saying in a speech that as an island country, Taiwanese all have maritime culture in their DNA. He emphasized that Taiwanese people should actively explore and research the ocean to bring broader development to the industry and enrich people's lives.
Both the president and Education Minister Ying-Yao Cheng (鄭英耀) received beautiful hand-drawn invitations to attend the event. Cheng expressed that he was touched by the sincere words and lively illustrations which convinced him to take part in the ceremony.
President Lai spoke about his time attending Wanli Elementary and Junior High, where he was also able to participate in marine sports. He said that they inspired him to actively promote ocean education as the mayor of Tainan and onwards. Lai added that during his tenure he established the Ocean Affairs Council in the Cabinet to lead the people to understand, explore, and respect the ocean and marine life. The President emphasized that this event will help the children grow into the ocean conservators of the future and hopes that it will encourage other schools to create similar learning opportunities.