Christian schools should be run differently from that of secular ones. The principal of the school should be a role model of a Christian who emulates Jesus’ living lifestyle. The Principal of Chang Jung Christian University, Taiwan, Mr Lee Yung-Lung intends to convert the existing University into one of international standards.
Chang Jung Christian University was established in Southern Taiwan by the Presbyterian Church. It is the continuation of Chang Jung Senior High school founded in 1885, the first Western high school in Taiwan, and the Chang Jung Girls’ school which started in 1887. Chang Jung University was set up in 1993.
Other higher education institutes of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan include Aletheia University, Mackay Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management and Mackay Medical College & Bible College. In the South, North and Eastern parts of Taiwan one can also find the Presbyterian seminaries: Tainan Theological College and Seminary, Taiwan Theological College and Seminary, and Yu-Shan Theological College and Seminary.
Mr Lee Yung-Lung and his team visited Sibu recently for the second time to share the vision of Chang Jung Christian University. He was interviewed by the chief editor of the Chinese Methodist Message, Mr Wong Meng Lei.
Shouldering
Social Responsibilities
Principal Lee said, since the University belongs to God, it carries a bigger core value, which is to structure the whole education back bone on love and care.
During these recent years, the University has incorporated the entrepreneur social responsibility into the University’s programme. It has been a key strategy of Chang Jung University for four years already. The Education Department of Taiwan has also included this social responsibility into the development plan of tertiary education since 2017.
There are 361 teachers in the University with 10139 students. But since more and more Taiwanese are embracing the fewer children policy, the University is putting in more efforts on quality advancement of the students rather than quantity. In the meantime, the University is making efforts to expand its source of students from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand, projecting a ratio of one to one of local and foreign students.
From a sugar cane farm
Turning a sugar cane farm into a 37-football-field-sized school was a miracle indeed. In the span of 25 years, Chang Jung University has witnessed a spectrum of God’s miraculous works.
“From a humble beginning as a sugar cane farm to a cultural and educational land and then a university campus, the University has faced many challenges. The transport system to this place was one of them. However, in the course of my 21 years of service at the school, I have been witness to some amazing changes and evolutions.”
Mr Lee continued, at present there is a High Speed Rail station just 4km away from the campus. Adding to it, the government has also constructed another sub-rail to Tainan, southern Taiwan, with its first stop right in the school campus, named as Chang Jung University Station. Thanks to this railway connection, the University is now conveniently reachable from all directions.
The school environment is essentially student-centred; thus facilities and amenities are designed according to the needs of the students. The hostels have 3200 beds, accommodating one third of its ten thousand students. Foreign students are given priority in allocation of hostel stay, starting from their admission till graduation, unless they choose to leave.
There are currently 420 foreign students with 90 from Malaysia. This number is on the increase.
Miss Not a Single One
Principal Lee said, a student starts learning to be independent when he or she enters University. Being independent relates very much to self-management. A good and conducive environment is thus needed to that end.
He admitted that there are some ‘black sheep’ among the students. However, they still serve them diligently and caringly based on the University’s motto: “Miss not a single one”. To that effect, there are many pastors stationed in the University, ready to minister to the students whom they see as counsel-needy students and not problematic students. Chang Jung University thus provides a promising environment for personality building.
Looking forward, Chang Jung Christian University intends to model the school into an international school in ten years’ time, an inspiration that came upon Mr Lee when he came to Malaysia to recruit students. “Malaysia is a multilingual country with rich cultural diversity. I even found the menu here written in three languages. This encounter helped me realize that this approach would help a person to grasp the information naturally and immediately. In Chang Jung, Chinese is still the basic language, so foreign students have a hard time understanding the menu.”
In order to move forward to becoming an international school, changes have to be made to cater to the needs of the students in a multicultural and multilingual context. “As more foreign students are enrolling in Chang Jung, we are motivated and energized to make these purposeful changes”
Mr Lee opined that Malaysian students have strong adaptive strengths. When they come to Taiwan, they can cope pretty well with the learning process as they have been exposed to many languages. “Thus, we are going to create such an international environment so that the horizon of our Taiwanese students can also be broadened and globalized.”
Righteousness is the Key
Chang Jung University is God’s university, thus, according to the principal, Mr Lee, Righteousness is another vital key to be established in the school, based on Proverbs 13:34, “Righteousness exalts a nation”. Chang Jung is therefore determined to embody the value of social responsibility within the school.
“Social responsibility leads to other concerns like environmental conservation. To this end, we are going to build another new college, Environmental Education International Experimental Institute,” added Mr Lee.
In order to establish this college, Chang Jung has invited Dame Jane Goodall from England, who is also a United Nations Ambassador for Peace and an active animal conservationist, to be the Honorary Dean of the college. There are currently 25 students from 8 African countries.
“Every year we give 30 different scholarships to eligible students. A total of 120 students in total are expected to benefit from this.”
In addition, Mr Lee also set up Yunus Social Enterprise Research Center. It was named after Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus who was the Nobel Peace Prize Winner in 2006. It is hoped that non-profit enterprises can help solve social problems.
In order to have a concrete experience of this concept, Chang Jung itself has invested in a social enterprise. The enterprise has only one main task, that is to use the University’s township and the fund they raised from the public to run the business. This is to provide internship opportunities as well as scholarships for their students, and funds to develop the University. The shareholders subscribe shares only to provide funds and receive no dividends.
“This is what Mr Yunus said: we make donations each year. When we donate a dollar, it is gone, because it is given away. But if a dollar is invested in an enterprise in solving social problems, it will have a rollover effect. The money invested in such enterprise will create profits that will accomplish much more great works than a dollar donated. I am deeply touched by this concept and motivated to do it. I am not sure of its outcome at the moment, but it will be a strong motivation for future enterprises if successful. The existence for enterprises is not merely for personal gains but also for social welfare.
Mr Lee emphasized we need business activities to enhance social progress. However the original definition of business is profit-orientated. The social enterprise of Chung Jung on the other hand creates a new concept in business to benefit others, that is, altruism. This is very much in line with Christian values. Students here are thus educated to have a new perspective in business enterprise, making them a people that will make a difference. If the profits are directed to improve social welfare, it is believed that there will be lesser social problems and more peace.
“Chang Jung thus embraces a deeper sense of philosophical significance without deviating from our initial goal of setting up the school. The school does not belong to anyone but God; no one can take away anything but instead, contribute more to the school.”
Setting an Example
Although he has been teaching in Chang Jung for the past 21 years, Mr Lee was only converted to Christianity three years ago. Thus setting an example is of significance for him. Being a Christian engaged in education, he should make known the goodness of being a Christian.
Before becoming a Christian, Mr Lee was against missionary work as it brought much stress to him and his family. Now that he is a Christian, he tries to convey the faith differently. He doesn’t force the students to become Christians, instead he demonstrates the likeness of Christ in the school policy.
The University is debt-free at the moment; it will be investment driven from now onwards. The main investment will be in infra-structure to maintain the 25-year-old school. The maintenance of the school needs a large sum of money each year to create a fresh and new look.
Another investment will be man-power. From the point of education, the students are the most important assets. The faculty and the staff of the school are the main support. Hence, an on-the-job training including language training is provided to enhance the faculty and staff for advancement and job promotion.
“To make Chang Jung an international university, English proficiency is a must. English will be used as a medium in teaching. In recent years we even sent teachers to the Philippines for training so that they could adapt to the English language environment faster.”