Alumni-meeting Northeast Asia in Ulan-Bataar

04/18/2016

In mid-April 2016 in Ulanbataar in Mongolia the first Northeast Asian meeting of alumni of Hanns-Seidel-Foundation took place, with former scholarship students of Mongolia, China, North and South Korea. Hanns-Seidel-Foundation since decades hands out scholarships for students in the region, in particular for doctoral studies in Germany, but also short other studies like specialized master courses. Dr. Michael Czepalla, head of the department of foreign scholarships, and Willi Lange, head of the Northeast Asia department of Hanns-Seidel-Foundation, organized the conference together with Prof. Dr. Sarantuya, head of HSF in Mongolia.

Discussion among alumnis of Northeast Asia

After opening remarks by the organizers first Luvsanvandan Bold, member of the Great State Khural (Parliament) and head of the Mongolian-German Parliamentary group, talked about German-Mongolian relations. The relations date back to the 1920s, when a group of Mongolian students came to Germany, who later had tremendous influence on the modernization of politics, economy and society in Mongolia, before being persecuted in the Stalinist repressions. Stefan Solleske of the German Embassy in Ulan-Bator added some thoughts on the Asian and European influences in Mongolia. Afterwards, the alumni groups of Hanns-Seidel-Foundation in Mongolia and South Korea were presented by Prof. Dr. Shairi Batsukh, Vice Director of the Mongolian Management Academy, and Prof. Dr. Jae-Seon So, professor of law at Kyunghee University in Seoul. A discussion and a cultural programme with traditional Mongolian music ended the first day of the conference.

The second day of the conference began with a presentation by Prof. Dr. N. Altantsetseg of the Institute for International Relations and Public Administration of the Mongolian State University about cooperation and conflict in Northeast Asia. Mongolia, with good relations with all neighbors, has a possibility to be a place for negotiations and meetings to deepen understanding and solve peacefully conflicts between states in the region. Afterwards Dr. Sok Yong-Guk, presented the alumni of North Korea, followed by Dr. Liu Keyang (People´s Publishing House) and Zhang Yanbo (NuSkin Distributor), presenting the groups in Beijing and Shanghai in China. In the afternoon, moderated by Dr. Bernhard Seliger of HSF Korea, alumni had the possibility to discuss. Finally, the alumni met with the Chancellery chief of the Mongolian Constitutional Court, D. Bayanbileg, who explained about the tasks of the Mongolian Constitutional Court.

On the day of departure, participants had the opportunity to visit the Djingis Khan monument in Tsonjin-Boldog, the everyday life of nomads in Mongolia, and the modern Mongolian Constitutional Court. Since the establishment of the modern Mongolian Constitution in 1992 a Constitutional Court is watching over its observance. For 12 years Prof. Dr. Sarantuya, representative of Hanns-Seidel-Foundation in Mongolia, was one of the 9 judges. Still today, as the head of the chanceller y of the court, D. Bayanbileg explained, is the most important partner of the constitutional court.

The conference was an important event for networking of alumni and the deepening of cross-border understanding in the region.

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