【國立臺灣大學109學年度畢業典禮 致詞代表 資訊工程學系韓哈斯】
Student Address, National Taiwan University Commencement 2021
International student Seth Austin Harding from Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering
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校長、教授、以及在螢幕前的各位同學,大家好。非常感謝臺大給我這個機會。我是韓哈斯,來自美國華盛頓特區。我會以自身的真實經驗出發,來跟大家分享臺大帶給我的收穫。
我當初為什麼選擇來台灣求學呢?我小時候非常喜歡看武打片,然後我十歲的時候去看了一部電影叫做「功夫熊貓」。這部電影成為了我最喜歡的電影,主角「阿波」的故事跟我的故事很像。我看完了之後就決定要開始學功夫,所以去了「美國武術學院」。那個時候我每天都聽旁邊的人講中文,到了高中我就決定開始學中文。當時我遇到了一位貴人,她是從台北到美國來教書的中文老師,她教的課是我當時最喜歡的課,我每天去她的教室跟好朋友練習。到了高中畢業時,我是全高中中文最好的非母語人士。同時,我第二喜歡的課程是電腦科學,那時候我是程式能力數一數二的學生。後來在成功錄取夢寐以求的學校:臺灣大學之後,我感到雀躍不已,因為我既可以繼續學習中文,也可以持續在世界頂尖的學府中,往電腦科學的方向精進自我。
不過老實說,當我回顧大一的時期,我也曾迷失自我。雖然我修了很多很多的中文課,但是我那時只聽得懂大概一半的課程內容。跟大家對美國人的印象不同,我其實很害羞,也很害怕舉手提問,我甚至不太敢參與社交,所以當時朋友也很少。我開始想家,也變得有一點憂鬱。那時籃球是我唯一的紓壓方式。
但更不幸的是,我在打籃球時弄傷了我的前十字韌帶,做了兩次手術,需要一年半才能恢復。許多的負面情緒壓得我喘不過氣。我被困在人生的低谷,不知如何是好。我覺得我的中文不夠好,我也被診斷出失眠跟ADHD,另外,美國高中的數學太簡單了,來這邊不夠用。種種壓力讓我足不出戶,找不到自己的人生方向。後來,我向臺大心輔中心以及我的心理醫師尋求協助,然後我也開始跟系上有更多互動。有一位教授叫徐宏民跟我說,"Never give up",雖然那時候我覺得這句話太過於簡化了我的問題,不過,在我仔細思考了一個禮拜之後,我下定決心,發誓不讓自己被這些事擊敗。我決定要克盡全力,認真做好每件事。這是我人生的轉捩點,我開始變得異常自律。當時廖世偉教授和洪士灝系主任帶我進入它們的研究室鑽研學術。這重燃了我對資訊工程的熱忱,提醒了我當初會愛上這個領域的原因。我開始研究人工智慧以及區塊鏈,也開始跟其他系上同學交朋友,一起成立臺大人工智慧應用社NTUAI。NTUAI現在是校內頗具規模的技術研究社團,致力於推廣人工智慧給任何對該領域有熱忱的學生。歡迎加入NTUAI,可以掃描我們的QR CODE。
最近,由於疫情的緣故,我已經一年半沒回美國了。但是沒關係,因為我已經找到了我第二個家。我很愛臺大,以及台灣的人事物。雖然我經歷了人生的低潮,但這裡的一切總是給我滿滿的祝福與協助。最後,我想送給大家「功夫熊貓」裡的一句台詞: "You just need to believe"。只要用樂觀的態度去面對困難,就有能力改變自己,甚至改變身旁所愛的人。就像阿波的父親說的,"心誠則靈,只要你相信,點石就能成金。根本沒有什麼秘笈。只有你。"謝謝大家。
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President, professors, and classmates, I'm very honored to be here. Thank you to NTU for giving me this opportunity. My name's Seth Austin Harding, and I'm from the D.C. metropolitan area. I'm going to tell a real story that's personal but that's relatable and what I see as the real me.
What motivated and guided me to take my undergraduate studies in Taiwan? When I was very young, I really loved watching kung fu movies, and when I was 10 years old, I went to the theater to watch "Kung Fu Panda". This became my favorite movie as I felt like the story of the main character Po was one to which I could very much relate. After watching this movie, I decided that I wanted to start learning kung fu, so I went to the United States Wushu Academy. At the time, I began hearing Mandarin on a daily basis, so when I was in high school, I decided to begin formally studying Chinese. It ended up being my Chinese teacher from Taipei who was my favorite teacher who taught my favorite class, so I decided I'd hang out in the Chinese classroom every day and practice lots. By the time graduation came around, I had attained the highest proficiency in Chinese among any non-native speaker in my school. My second favorite class was computer science, and I ended up attaining among the best coding skills in my school. After getting accepted to the school of my dreams -- National Taiwan University -- I felt honored, humbled, and excited; I could now spend time at among the world's finest universities studying Chinese and at the same time advancing my knowledge of computer science.
But when I look back at my freshman year, to be honest with you, I didn't know what I was doing. Despite having taken very many Chinese classes, when I went to the NTU lectures, I understood only about half of what the teachers were saying. Contrary to most people's impressions of an American, I was actually too shy to raise my hand, to ask questions, or to even meet with teachers after class, so I had very few friends at the time. I started to become homesick and depressed. At that time, I found that basketball was the only way I knew of relieving my stress. However, while playing basketball, I had torn my ACL and it would take two surgeries and a year and a half in time to fully recover. At this point, I felt caught between a rock and a hard place. In fact, this was the lowest point of my life, and I didn't know what to do. I felt like my Chinese wasn't good enough, I had been diagnosed with insomnia and ADHD, and I felt like the math taught in America was too simple to allow for me to keep up with my classmates. I was under immense pressure, and at this time, I lost any sense of purpose or direction. Later on, I went to seek help from NTU counseling, from my psychiatrist, and from my department. I reached out to Professor Winston Hsu from CSIE, and he told me this: "Never give up"; it was such an oversimplified way to approach such a complex series of problems, I had thought. However, I pondered these words intensely for one week, and by the end of that week, I had made a firm decision. This would NOT be another example of me giving up. I decided to go all out, to work diligently and passionately on all tasks at hand. This was the turning point of my life; I started to discipline myself to a very high degree. At this time, I met my then-to-become advisors Professor Shih-Wei Liao and Professor Shih-Hao Hung and entered their labs to begin research. Finally, the passion that I had for computer science that I had previously held in high school was kindled again, and I was finally reminded why I loved this field. I began my research life in blockchain and AI, and at the time I entered the lab, I also began creating NTUAI. NTUAI is now a large and highly successful NTU club that is dedicated to the research and public understanding of AI. Welcome one and all to join us; please scan our QR code here.
For a year and a half I haven't returned to America because of covid. But not to worry; I have found my second home, away from home. I love it here in NTU and I cherish all of the things I've had the privilege to experience in Taiwan. I've gone through the most difficult of struggles in my life here, but I've also had the most fortunate and blessed of experiences. To conclude, I'd like to quote a line from "Kung Fu Panda": "You just need to believe". As long as you are willing to adopt an optimistic attitude in facing challenges and hardships, you may become a positive force in changing the lives of those around you as well as your own life. It all depends on how you view it; just like what Po's father says, "there is no secret ingredient. It's just you." Thank you, everyone.
詳見:
https://www.facebook.com/NTUCommencement/posts/2718185771805180
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#臺灣大學 #畢業典禮 #NTUCommencement2021 #學生致詞代表 #臺大資訊工程學系 #韓哈斯 #SethAustinHarding
「public understanding of science」的推薦目錄:
public understanding of science 在 堅離地城:沈旭暉國際生活台 Simon's Glos World Facebook 的最讚貼文
【#TheDiplomat: 沈旭暉隨緣家書英文版🇭🇰】很久沒有向國際關係評論網 The Diplomat 供稿,但國際線十分重要,不應放棄。這次他們希望分享23條、國安法、反恐法風雨欲來的「新香港」前瞻,願國際社會能多了解快將出現的危機:
While the world is preoccupied with a fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Beijing has been tightening its political grip on all aspects of Hong Kong’s civil society. Rumor has it that Beijing will push through legislating national security laws under Article 23 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law by unconventional means, such as massively disqualifying pro-democratic legislators or even directly applying a national law, widely argued as a major step to destroy the rights and freedom of Hong Kongers, and bring Chinese authoritarianism to Hong Kong.
After the 2019 protests, the administration of Carrie Lam, who theoretically is still leading the special administrative region of China, has little political capital at stake, with its legitimacy reaching rock bottom. The pro-government camp has dwindling prospects for the city’s upcoming Legislative Council election. The government‘s ”nothing to lose“ mentality is apparent from its recent blatant reinterpretation of the Basic Law’s Article 22 (another article that limits the influence of China’s offices in Hong Kong’s internal affairs). The debate is nothing new, but the pressure this time is quite different.
This article highlights the different strategies Beijing could adopt to enact Article 23 insidiously or under disguise to avoid backlash from the international community, while continuing to reap benefits from the city’s globally recognized special status. This seems to be part of Beijing’s brinkmanship to bring Hong Kong protesters and their supporters to their knees and move the city closer to authoritarianism. To counter these moves, Hong Kongers must define the boundaries beyond which Hong Kong falls into authoritarian rule and make a case as to why the city’s downfall is detrimental to the international community‘s interest.
The Long-Term Controversy Over National Security Laws
Back in 2003, the implementation of Article 23 was thwarted by the moderate pro-establishment politician James Tien. In face of overwhelming public disapproval of the law, he withdrew support and votes from his Liberal Party. However, 17 years later, it is hard to imagine Beijing following the old legislative playbook: start with a public consultation, followed by public discourse and political debate, and end with the majority rule. This playbook only works in peaceful societies ruled by a trustworthy government with integrity.
The aftermath of 2003, as well as the 2019 protests, should have taught Beijing and the Hong Kong government a lesson: pushing through national security legislation in a flawed parliament controlled by the minority pro-government camp would inevitably set off another full city-scale protest — and undoubtedly more fierce and focused this time. Given the current government’s numerous displays of dishonesty, it is conceivable that they will embark on a less-traveled path to implement Article 23.
Strategy One: “Anti-Terrorism”
In principle, one possible strategy could be to directly enact Chinese national law across Hong Kong, which can be achieved by declaring a state of emergency in the city. However, this is risky business as it would tarnish the integrity of “one country two systems” and subsequently Hong Kong’s international standing. Beijing, a risk-averse regime, is also unwilling to see Hong Kong’s status as a middleman for laundering money disappear into thin air.
Instead, Beijing could be concocting a narrative that would see Chinese national law applied to Hong Kong while not damaging Hong Kong’s international standing and Beijing’s own interests. The key word in this script is “anti-terrorism.” As early as 2014, pro-Beijing scholars have been claiming the emergence of “local terrorist ideology” on Hong Kong soil. Since the anti-extradition bill protests last year, government rhetoric frequently described the protests, which caused no deaths at all in the entire year, with phrases like “inclination to terrorist ideology.” That was a signal to the world that Hong Kong’s internal conflicts had ballooned into a national security issue. This gives the government the legitimacy to justify the implementation of Chinese national laws across the highly autonomous region to counter terrorism. The Chinese government knows that if it can persuade the world that terrorism exists in Hong Kong, and that it is as severe as the terror threat facing many other nations today, the international community will be less critical of Beijing’s actions in Hong Kong. Enacting Chinese laws directly is a convenient path that will save Beijing from having to tackle Hong Kong’s internal conflicts, basically turning the Hong Kong issue into a nonissue.
Strategy Two: Stacking the Legislature by Disqualifying Candidates
An even bolder strategy was probably foretold by a recent incident where the Hong Kong government and Beijing’s agencies for Hong Kong affairs (HKMAO and the Liaison Office) jointly criticized lawmaker Dennis Kwok for filibustering, framing it as “misconduct in public office” and “violating his oath.” It is incomprehensible to claim that filibustering goes against a lawmaker’s main duty; rather, it is common understanding that legislative work includes debating the law and representing public opinion against unreasonable laws. In a parliament controlled by the minority, pro-democratic members representing the majority of Hong Kongers are forced to express their objections using means like filibustering. Wouldn’t a lack of different political opinions turn the legislative branch into a rubber-stamp institution?
The above allegation has set a dangerous precedent for twisting the logic behind a certain provision in the Basic Law to target opposing lawmakers. In other words, to fulfill Beijing’s interpretation of the principal requirement for holding public office in Hong Kong, one could be required to take a meticulously legalistic approach to uphold the Basic Law down to its every single wording. A public official, by this new definition, not only needs to support “one country, two systems” or object Hong Kong independence, but also must abide by every single provision in the Basic Law. Worst of all, based on the previous cases, whether an official’s words or actions oversteps a provision is up to Beijing’s interpretation of his/her “intent.”
If this approach is applied, in the next election, there might be additional official questions for screening candidates like the following: “The Basic Law states that the enactment of Article 23 is a constitutional duty. Failing to support Article 23 legislation violates the Basic Law. Do you support it?” This question would suffice to disqualify even moderate or even pro-establishment candidates like James Tien. Even if any pro-democratic candidates were elected, once Article 23 re-enters the legislative process, they could risk ouster by raising objections.
Despite the absurdity of this tactic, the Chinese regime may just be tempted enough if such a strategy could resolve two of China’s current nuisances — voices of dissent in the Legislative Council and the previous failure to implement Article 23.
Strategy Three: The “Boiling Frog Effect”
Article 23 is not yet implemented, but the dystopian world that the protesters pictured in 2003 is already becoming reality. Regular citizens have been persecuted for “sedition” for sharing their views on social media or participating in legal protests; workers face retaliation for taking part in strikes; corporations are pressured to publicly side with the government’s stance; employees who have the “wrong” political views are fired; schools have been closely monitored for teaching material; protest-supporting fundraisers were framed for money laundering; a retweet or like may lead to persecution, under a colonial-era law. Only now have Hong Kongers woken up to their new reality — although the Basic Law technically protects citizens’ rights to speak, rally, march, demonstrate, and go on strike, the government could enfeeble civil rights by bending antiquated laws and legal provisions. The frequent abuse of law enforcement power on a small scale, such as improper arrests and police violence, is desensitizing the public and the international community. In a few years, Hong Kong will become unrecognizable. This is indeed a clever play on Beijing’s part to slowly strip away Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedom, without causing much international attention.
Counter-Strategies Against Beijing’s Brinkmanship
Beijing’s overarching goal is to hollow out Hong Kong but, at the same time, avoid major backlash from the international community, which could spell the end of the privileged global status of Hong Kong not granted to other Chinese cities. Beijing also aims at preventing single incidents that could cascade down into mass protests as seen in 2003, 2014, and 2019; and eliminating any resistance forces from within Hong Kong’s legislature. The tactics outlined above are typical in a game of brinkmanship.
In response, Hong Kongers in Hong Kong and on the so-called “international frontline” must know their strengths and bargaining chips on this negotiating table with Beijing.
Unlike Xinjiang and Tibet, Hong Kong is a city with transparency and free flow of information. Hong Kongers need to make a case to the world that the protests are not acts of terrorism. Some suggestions include comparing the Hong Kong protests to similar struggles in 20 or so other counties in the world at the present time, none of which were classified as terrorism; collecting a large amount of concrete evidence of the disproportionate use of force by the Hong Kong police; and showing how enacting Chinese national laws in Hong Kong will end the city’s autonomy and spell disaster for international community‘s interests.
The Legislative Council is the institution that can counteract Beijing’s “boiling frog” strategy and to keep Hong Kongers’ hope alive in the system. Those who plan to run for legislative office must be prepared to be disqualified from running. If only individuals are banned, there need to be alternative candidates as back-up plans. However, if and when the disqualification process is applied broadly to entire camps of candidates (for example, all who object to Article 23), the pro-democracy camp must make a strong case to the Hong Kong and global public that this is the endgame for Hong Kong democracy. Then the incumbent popularly elected legislators will hold the internationally recognized mandate from the public and serve as the last resistance.
These recommendations delineates how the slogan “if we burn, you burn with us,” often seen in the protests, may play out in the game of international relations. If the national security laws are “passed” by a legislature that is jury-rigged in this manner, or if related national laws are directly implemented in Hong Kong, Hong Kongers should signal clearly to the world that it goes way beyond the promised “one country, two systems.” Crossing this red line by Beijing should be seen by the world as a blunt violation of its promised autonomy to Hong Kongers. At that time, if the international community led by the United States and the United Kingdom decided to revoke the “non-sovereignty entity” status of Hong Kong and regard the SAR as an ordinary Chinese city, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Dr. Simon Shen is the Founding Chairman of GLOs (Glocal Learning Offices), an international relations start-up company. He also serves as an adjunct associate professor in the University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and associate director of the Master of Global Political Economy Programme of the CUHK. The author acknowledges Jean Lin, Coco Ho, Chris Wong, Michelle King, and Alex Yap for their assistance in this piece.
▶️ 高度自治 vs 全面管治
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwt8wZl8jHQ
public understanding of science 在 Racheal Kwacz - Child & Family Development Specialist Facebook 的最讚貼文
Good morning!
Here's a little sample of our RMO schedule! We're technically on day 17 of voluntary self-quarantine and have a little routine going-on which has been so pivotal to everyone's sanity!
Having a structure helps to manage expectations allowing for lots of freedom within boundaries, a key principle of Respectful Parenting. It helps everyone take ownership with a semblance of control over all the things we can't control!
One of the big things (that I highly recommend!) we did as a family when we knew we would have to potentially self-quarantine for 4-6 weeks with our family medical history as well as with my work travel was sit down as a family and talk about what was important to us.
We live in a 1500sqft apartment and haven't left these four walls. 😅😅❤️ We have a balcony but other than that, we've not gone to other public common areas which made it very important that we make our home, a safe, loving, fun, haven instead of prison walls.
The best way for success was for all of us to talk about what was important to us. What we needed on the schedule to find our happy.
For mama and daddy, it was making sure that we had set time for us to work and for Ella Grace, she wanted to have morning meetings and a few other special mentions like morning snuggles, cooking together, play time.
This is by no-means a be-all ends-all, it will look different for every family depending on what you and your littles find important. The key is just that with a structure and framework, it allows everyone to breathe and create, have fun and be present without worrying about what's happening next which is especially important for little ones.
This schedule while very thought out, is flexible. We don't micromanage at all and there are no set times where something has to be done at a specific time (outside of her medicine schedule!). Listen to your gut, mamas. It's your superpower!
Ps. Can you tell which part of the day this picture was taken?
I wrote it up on our "command center" which are these giant sliding glass doors that we have in our kitchen. We use chalk pens and write our favorite quotes, grocery list, schedule, family goals, etc and it's easily wipeable!
On the left are "special" things that we get to do by the day along with suggestions on play ideas if she's stumped and on the right, our running schedule that I want to reiterate again, looks very long and complicated but is just more of a loose framework and structure!
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The pyramid you see is something is an intuitive tool-based one-on-one family private session I teach using science-based emotive drivers to help you find what's important to your family, what you want to achieve, and the tools to get there.
It's great for families wanting to get a clearer and on the same page on how to reach their mama and daddy goals and something that has radically changed the way I love, lead, and mama! If you’re interested in signing up for it after Covid is over, come have a chat w me!
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RMO SCHEDULE
❤️ Morning snuggles
A loving quiet start for everyone, good morning hug or snuggles or just quiet time together as they wake up
❤️ Make breakfast with daddy
Ella Grace's favorite time w daddy - they make coffee and breakfast together. While not limited to this, because breakfast is usually her choice, I also list down some options to help her.
❤️ Medicine
Ella Grace has daily medicine that she has to take so putting it on the schedule helps her get a sense of what happens when since much of our routine has changed. It also helps everyone not forget!
❤️ PLAY!
Such an important part of her day, we allow for lots of time for free play and exploration. She plays independently and happily while daddy and mama work.
Her favorite options include dress-up, role-play, restaurant, construction, magnatiles, podcasts, games, art table, dancing, scooter, forts, obstacle course, sensory etc.
She has free run on our little apartment and her imagination is her limit. Freedom within boundaries!
❤️ Movement
We try to move together as a family everyday for at least 20-30mins of vigorous activity. Movement helps your brain get to a theta state which helps with focus and understanding new information which is great for both adults that need to work and littles that need to play and learn!
Movement when you're shut it also helps regulate your hormones and keeping your body active will not just help you feel good physically but also mentally.
Some of our favorite ways to move together are family yoga, dance party, zumba, workout video, HIIT circuit, etc
❤️ Morning snack
Studies have also shown that a good snack or meal after activity helps little ones to sustain this theta state longer.
Also, mama is hungry and doesn't want to be hangry!
❤️ Morning meeting
This was beautifully one of the biggest requests Ella Grace wanted when we asked what was important to her. It's a little circle time that she usually has at school and it gives everyone safe space to come together, talk about what's on their mind or what's happened, as well as sets up expectations for the day by going through what day it is, what our plans are, etc.
❤️ Play/work
Another space to independently work and play and using some key Respectful Parenting principles after connecting (morning meeting, family movement, snack etc) to disconnect.
Fueling up their love tanks allows this space to largely remain uninterrupted, productive, and happy!
❤️ Lunch
We usually have a simple lunch - sandwiches, wraps, leftovers, soup and rice, one-pot meals, etc
❤️ Nap
Ella Grace cleans up and changes into her pjs for a little nap after lunch. She has a little eye mask and sleeping bag that she drags out to the living room sometimes to be close to us while we work or she might take a nap in her room or our room.
Our boundary is just that her body has to rest so we are quite flexible and work with her so she feels like she has some amount of ownership in it which helps with cooperation!
❤️ Afternoon snack
We take a little break together and have an afternoon snack/tea/coffee and just check in with one another (there's that connect to disconnect again!)
❤️ Play/work
Ella Grace usually spends this time playing but mostly lots of movement-based play like dancing, scooting, rocking/jumping on her balance board, etc
❤️ Cooking/TV time
I start preparing dinner and Ella Grace usually will help me cut, wash, etc and when she's done helping, she gets a little tv time while I finish up. Her favorite shows currently are The Wiggles, Hi-5, Fireman Sam, Paw Patrol
❤️ Dinner
Mealtimes are special for our family. It's our chance to connect and eat together so we try to really be present. Put our phones away, sit down at the table or if we're having dinner outside, on the mat or bench together, set up and clean up together so it's a family activity.
❤️ 20-min shakedown
This is a fun clean-up game that we play at the end of the day. We set up a timer for 20mins and quickly try to clean up as much as we can.
The only rule is that at the end of 20mins we stop and walk away. It makes the clean-up less overwhelming and also elicits participation from everyone because there is a certain end time that doesn't get extended no matter what, making it much easier to get everyone to participate the next time too.
You'd be amazing how much we can get done in 20mins! In our little apartment, having free reign to play throughout the day allows us to not have to micromanage but also not go nuts from the mess. We pick up here and there throughout the day but the 20min gives us a nice reset for the next day while making it not feel like a big task.
❤️ Movement
We usually have some sort of movement - epic dance party is one of our very favorites. If it's been a very busy tiring day, we might play a song and stretch, meditate or do wind down yoga instead. There are no hard and fast rules, just again time to move and listen to our bodies.
❤️ Bath/Shower
Ella Grace takes her own shower and this is also usually when she brushes her teeth, takes her medicine, etc.
❤️ Night Meeting
Similar to morning meeting, it's a little circle to come together and debrief from our day together. We usually play Happy/Sad/Grateful which is the highlight for everyone. We do a little breathing and love shower after, read a few books then end with prayer before Ella Grace goes to bed and mama and daddy get some mama and daddy time!
Hope this helps!