From Apayao to TECO: Edu-Connect and KMU Bring the Taiwanihan-Bayanihan Initiative to Manila

October 6, 2026 | From Apayao to TECO: Edu-Connect and KMU Bring the Taiwanihan-Bayanihan Initiative to Manila

Dr. Eing-Ming Wu, President of Edu-Connect, and Dr. Yong-Chao Su of Kaohsiung Medical University (KMU), both Conveners of Home 2 Taiwan, visit Ambassador Wallace Chow, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines, at the TECO office in Makati City.

One network, one year of bayanihan. Dr. Wu presents the Taiwanihan-Bayanihan Initiative, the network’s roadmap for the year, which links universities, communities and partners on both sides of the strait.

From the southern tip of Taiwan to the northern tip of Luzon. Days earlier, on October 1–5, Dr. Su leads the KMU Namasia USR Project team to the Province of Apayao in the Cordillera at the invitation of Governor Elias C. Bulut, Jr. The UPLB Bee Program travels with them. Two indigenous students from Namasia join the team and find words their Austronesian languages share with the local language. “It feels like home,” they say.

Indigenous governance and biodiversity, together. The team visits the yApayaos Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO site since 2024, where Isnag communities have long protected the forest through lapat, their customary practice. From these talks comes a proposal for a small Biocultural Mirror Lab: Apayao faculty trained at KMU, Isnag knowledge mirrored back, and the local community first. Apayao State College offers to host a research office at the school.

Keeping TECO in the loop. At TECO, the delegation briefs Ambassador Chow on the Apayao mission and on ongoing work under Transnational Human Capital Development (THCD) and Project Aurora.

This conversation is also a lesson in Transnational Human Capital Development (THCD). Taiwan’s population is aging, and it needs more workers in geriatric care, rehabilitation and long-term care. The Philippines brings both skills and cultural fit, not just labor supply. Home 2 Taiwan’s role is to build people through training, upskilling and credentialing, not just to fill positions. In Apayao, that means training the young scientists and communities who will protect their own forests. Future H2T initiatives will be read through this same THCD lens.

Stay tuned to our page for more stories of Filipinos building the nation, away from home. 🇵🇭🇹🇼

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