In recent days, faculty members from the College of Foreign Languages have led students beyond the campus to provide live interpretation services at events including receptions for foreign guests at the Taipei City Government, cultural programs at the Chiayi Art Museum, and post-performance talks at the National Theater. These activities showcased their irreplaceable professionalism. Dean of the College of Foreign Languages, Professor Yi-Ti Lin, remarked, “The wit and cultural depth demonstrated by simultaneous interpreters remain far beyond the reach of generative AI.”

Between May 15 and 20, Assistant Professor Meng-Yen Lou from the Department of Spanish and two outstanding senior students recommended by the department, I-Fan Luo and Chih-En Suei, formed a three-member interpretation team. They performed simultaneous and consecutive interpretation duties at the "World Masters Games 2025 Taipei & New Taipei City" and the "2025 Taipei International Cities Forum." The trio also served as interpreters when Taipei Mayor Wan-An Chiang and Deputy Mayor Shu-Chuan Lee welcomed Mayor Dr. Daniel Carrillo Martínez and his wife from San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico—Taipei's sister city.

I-Fan Luo had previously completed an overseas internship in Mexico during her junior year through the department's arrangements. He had served as an escort interpreter for the mayor and his wife from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, during their visit to Taiwan hosted by Inventec. Witnessing her professor's ability to manage the simultaneous interpretation of a high-level international forum expertly was an eye-opener. She also admired her professor's professionalism in preparing by collecting and studying relevant materials two weeks in advance.

Associate Professor Wen-Ju Li from the Department of Japanese recently participated in activities related to "Yi-Fang" (「義方」)— A Solo Exhibition by Jun-Yuan Hong at the Chiayi Art Museum, where she led senior student Cheng-Bang Liao in providing simultaneous interpretation. The participants included 12 Japanese scholars from Hiroshima University who were researching “Atomic Bomb Literature and Culture,” initiating a deep cross-cultural dialogue between Japan and Taiwan. Over two days of field study, the professor and student team supported interpretation for interviews, field research, and museum tours. Having taken Li’s "Advanced Japanese Interpretation" course and spent a year on exchange at Kyoto Tachibana University, Liao skillfully interpreted in Taiwanese, Mandarin, and Japanese. Li praised him: “Especially at the round-table dinner, he was able to interpret an elderly guest’s Taiwanese—spoken from his experience of the atomic bombing—into Japanese with precision. It was truly commendable.”

In addition, Assistant Professor Ya-Fang Lo from the Spanish Department provided interpretation for the National Theater during the performance run of Peru’s Teatro La Plaza as part of the Taiwan International Festival of Arts 2025 (TIFA) starting May 12. She also translated the performance guide for their play, Hamlet. The fact that all the cast members have Down syndrome added to the complexity and challenge of the translation work.

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