By Ian Hsu
Why did you join MUN?
I initially joined MUN because I wanted to get more in touch with the outside world. As TAS students, we have the tendency to keep to our own social lives, which prevents us from understanding that there are different cultures and lifestyles beyond our small island. It wasn’t until I joined MUN that I truly understood the large amounts of problems and conflicts going on in the world. For all I knew, life was perfect and happy for everyone. Aside from understanding current events, I also wanted to build my public speaking and people skills. I used to be terrified of public speaking and I’m usually extremely shy when first meeting people, so I wanted to be able to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. MUN has helped me a lot with building my confidence and leadership.
What made you choose this topic?
Well, first off, I chose APQ because I’ve done it two times already, and I knew that TASMUN would need a good leader in APQ, especially with the different procedures. So I chose to chair APQ, as opposed to something else that would appear to be better, like Security Council. Truthfully speaking, there wasn’t really a personal reason as to why I chose my topic “Facilitating the assimilation and protecting the rights of newly-arrived refugees and asylum seekers in Western Europe.” The topics in my committee were all related to refugees, so I was extremely comfortable with all of them as I’ve worked with refugee topics numerous times in the past. As a result, I just let my co-chairs pick the topics they wanted and I had the one that was left.
What do you think is one of the solutions to one of the problems?
One of the solutions would be for member nations to recognize the benefits that refugees bring, such as replenishing aging populations, introducing new markets, and meeting the demand for labor. Instead of utilizing refugees and asylum seekers as scapegoats to blame for economic and social problems, governments need to work with the public to combat discrimination and xenophobia. This could include the gradual integration of refugees into small communities and companies. By encouraging people from host countries to volunteer at refugee camps, awareness can be raised on the poor conditions refugees live in as well as the constant discrimination they face.
How would you describe this topic using one sentence?
This topic seems easy when first looked at, but in reality, is extremely hard, as delegates would have to think truly in the shoes of their delegations and remind themselves not to be too idealistic.
Would you recommend other people to choose this topic?
Yes, I would recommend other people to choose this topic, as it provides as a good learning experience for themselves as well.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this topic (1 being boring and 10 being extremely fun)?
I would say a 7.5. As aforementioned, I’ve done topics on refugees before, so I guess it’s kind of losing its wow factor.
In your opinion, is cereal a soup?
I don’t think cereal is a soup. Technically, cereal is just milk plus the cereal. Just because it’s in a bowl like container and we eat it with a spoon, doesn’t make it a soup. Additionally, soup, I would assume, have to be cooked.
If you found 10 million NTD, what would you do with it?
I would probably try to return it to the owner, as 10 million NTD is a lot of money. If all fails, I would save a majority of it in the bank and use it as investments for college, and use part of it to take my family on a vacation in Europe.