TCS

From December 1 to 2, the TCS delegation headed by Secretary-General OU Boqian visited Busan, ROK, and signed memoranda of understandings (MOUs) on the TCS Internship Program with Busan University of Foreign Studies (BUFS) and Dongseo University. Through the MOU, the TCS and the two universities agreed to make efforts to strengthen cooperative relations by fully utilizing their respective resources to promote trilateral cooperation among the young generation of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. In particular, the TCS and the two universities agreed on their commitment to 1) support and participate in various academic and people-to-people exchanges organized by both sides, 2) to establish regular communication to better facilitate academic, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges, and 3) to explore possible ways for their future cooperation for collaborative projects. Prior to the agreements, SG OU had a meeting with the President of each university.During the meeting with President CHANG Soon Heung of Busan University on December 1, the two sides discussed future cooperation between the TCS and BUFS. Secretary-General OU shared with BUFS detailed information on the series of TCS-organized upcoming youth programs including the launch of Trilateral Youth Exchange Network (TYEN), the Trilateral Youth Month, the Trilateral Youth Speech Contest and the Young Ambassador Program, and asked for support from BUFS on promoting the events. President CHANG shared understanding of the importance of youth exchanges in trilateral cooperation and expressed his full support for upcoming TCS youth programs.▲ MOU Signing Ceremony between the TCS and BUFS▲Group Photo On December 2, the TCS delegation met with President CHANG Jekuk of Dongseo University. Secretary-General OU congratulated Dongseo University on its continued success in implementing the CAMPUS Asia Program and thanked President CHANG for his supports for TCS and its activities over the past years. President CHANG highly recognized TCS’ efforts to contribute to promoting peace and stability in the region and promised his continued support to the TCS. He also shared Dongseo University’s efforts to establish dual and triple degree programs and the ongoing discussion of expanding the CAMPUS Asia program. After the MOU signing ceremony, the TCS delivered a presentation to the students of Dongseo University introducing the TCS as well as its upcoming youth programs such as the Young Ambassador Program, the Trilateral Youth Speech Contest, and the TCS Internship Program.▲ MOU Signing Ceremony between the TCS and Dongseo University▲ Group PhotoIn addition, Secretary-General OU had an interview on December 1 with a local media of Busan, the Kukje Daily News, on the promotion of trilateral cooperation and the TCS.▲ SG OU’s Interview with Kukje Daily News

The 23rd Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting (TEMM23) was held virtually on December 1, 2022. The meeting was presided by Minister HUANG Runqiu of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China with participation of State Minister YAMADA Miki of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, andMinister HAN Wha-jin of theMinistry of Environment of the Republic of Korea. The TCS delegation headed by Secretary-General Amb. OU Boqian and Deputy Secretary-General SAKATA Natsuko attended the meeting as an observer.At the meeting, the three Ministers exchanged information on the recent progress in environmental policies, global and regional environmental issues via carbon neutrality, renewables and air quality etc. TheMinisters reviewed the progress in the implementation of Tripartite Joint Action Plan (TJAP) 2021-2025 and also highlighted 8 priority areas of TJAP. The three Ministers reaffirmed the view that efforts under TEMMwould contribute to sustainable development in Northeast Asia as well as solving national, regional and global environmental problems.In the Joint Communiqué, the Ministers acknowledged the contribution of the TCS in the framework of Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting (TEMM) and welcomed continuous collaboration under the TJAP 2021-2025. Trilateral Symposium on Environmental Education and Public Awareness was also recognized, which was held in August 2022 in collaboration with the ministries and TEEN, promoting trilateral environmental cooperation and education to the educators and general public. The role of the TCS as a supporting entity in promoting cooperation under the action plan has also been highlighted.TEMM, which was established in 1999, is a well-established mechanism among the 21 trilateral ministerial mechanisms. TCS has attended the meeting since 2014 and continues to support the mechanism, especially under the area of raising general public awareness in environmental protection.▲ Signing Ceremony for the Joint Communiqué▲ Group Photo

On December 1, 2022, TCS Secretary-General Amb. OU Boqian paid a courtesy call to Mr. JOO Nak-young, the Mayor of Gyeongju City. The two sides exchanged views on the TCS' proposal on 'Cultural Cites of East Asia(CCEA)' Media & Celebrities Tour, and discussed ways to cooperate with each other in the future. Mayor JOO introduced that Gyeongju city has sister city relations and friendly ties with 19 cities in 11 countries, stressing that Gyeongju, as a historical and cultural city of Korea, has steadily promoted exchange and cooperation with China and Japan. He noted that despite restrictions on face-to-face exchanges due to COVID-19 pandemic, the city's efforts to promote international cooperation has been continued through various means including online video conferences, as exchanges among local governments remains important. SG OU congratulated Gyeongju for its achievements made as CCEA 2022, underlining the importance of promoting shared culture as a common experience and value connecting the three countries. She introduced that TCS attaches particular importance to the promotion of culture and youth exchanges, which can be witnessed by launching of a series of new projects such as Trilateral Youth Exchange Network(TYEN). In this respect, she looked forward that the CCEA Tour Project can not only contribute to the promotion of the cities themselves but also to improving mutual perceptions and understanding, especially among young generations, through discovery of cultural commonalities in diversity among the three countries. For the successful hosting of the project, SG OU asked for Gyeongju city government's kind support and cooperation.Mayor JOO concurred with SG that it is important for young people to understand the diversity of culture and develop it further through the process of sharing and incorprating. To this end, he said it is critical to provide a future-oriented and friendly environment for such activities, and highlighted that the TCS' initiatives will play an important role in this regard. He promised that Gyeongju city government will provide all necessary support as requested.Prior to the meeting, Gyeongju city government also provided a guided tour of historic and cultural sites to the TCS delegation for better understanding of Gyeongju. Building on this occasion, TCS and Gyeongju have decided to continue working-level consultations and communication to coordinate specific programs in the future.▲ Meeting between the Mayor of Gyeongju City JOO Nak-young and TCS SG OU Boqian▲ Mayor JOO and SG OU

On November 29, 2022, the 22nd TRIPO Heads Meeting was held, hosted by Japan Patent Office (JPO), with Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) participating. TCS Deputy Secretary-General SAKATA Natsuko attended the meeting and delivered congratulatory remarks.The three Intellectual Property (IP) offices discussed each country’s recent trends IP development and reviewed the major cooperation projects between the three countries. The discussion covered projects such as TRIPO Design Forum, Trademark User Symposium and Experts Meeting, Joint Experts Group for Trial and Appeal, and IP International Symposium on Academics. The heads of offices expressed their appreciation and gratitude to each other for the continued efforts in trilateral IP collaboration.DSG SAKATA extended her congratulations to the three offices for preserving IP cooperation for more than 20 years, and praised their performances in deigns, trademarks, and patents. DSG SAKATA also introduced the current statistics on CJK’s IP achievements through presenting data from TCS’ Trilateral Statistics Hub. She emphasized that modern IP system can provide various solutions to our societies, and ultimately enrich our economy, culture, and society.The Meeting was followed by the 10th TRIPO User Symposium, where the three patent offices introduced the role of IP in carbon neutrality and related case studies. The next TRIPO will be hosted by KIPO of ROK.▲ Group photo during the TRIPO Heads Meeting▲ DSG SAKATA delivering her remarks online