On the 25th to 26th of October 2014, several students from PAS participated in the 10th annual HSINMUN hosted by the International Bilingual School at Hsinchu-Science Park, otherwise known as IBSH. Of the 21 students from PAS participating, there were two ICJ judges and one student officer. This year, PAS delegates were honored to represent the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the Syrian Arab Republic, and the United Kingdom. The students of PAS met with delegates from all over Taiwan from different schools including TAS, IBSH, AST, HAS, Tainan First Senior High, Kang Chiao, and many more. The conference started out with students pouring into the auditorium, and the Secretariat’s address to the body, followed by a speech from the guest speaker Nicolas V. Chen. Advisers Mr. Gareth Manning, Mr. Alexandros Vassilakis, and Dr. Gerald Blaney said they especially enjoyed the guest speaker’s enlightening speech about the United Nations during the opening ceremony. After the opening ceremony, students scattered around to their separate committee rooms and began debating.
As part of HSIMUN’s 10th anniversary, the officer team had worked to introduce a General Assembly Plenary, Security Council exclusive-crisis, and an International Court of Justice committee. In the Security Council, the delegates of UK and Syria debated on the issues regarding Ukraine and South Sudan. Afterwards the committee debated the crisis regarding ISIS expansion in cooperation with the THIMUN-affiliated Online Model United Nations organization (O-MUN), where delegates in the room debated with other delegates across the world—even with a delegate of ISIS. Delegates in the Human Rights Council expressed their views on the right to privacy in light of online security surveillance by governments and passenger rights in light of transportation accidents. In GA3, co-chair Angela Liu was the expert chair on the issue of the Syrian refugee crisis. ICJ judges Howard Yin and Sean Hu provided verdicts on the Australia v. Japan case regarding whaling in the Antarctic. Delegates in other committees conveyed their excitement in debating with their fellow delegates and passing resolutions.
Sure enough, after two long days of debating, delegates headed to the auditorium to attend the closing ceremony. PAS delegates exchanged stories of their experiences and mingled with their fellow committee members, snapping photos and recalling the events from the two days. Overall, the HSINMUN experience was rewarding; not only did they learn more about major global issues, but also made enduring friendships with their fellow delegates as well as student officers.
