On June 27, Magistrate Wang Chung-ming, Vice Magistrate Chen Kuan-Jen, and the county government team of Lienchiang County visited National Taiwan Ocean University(NTOU) to engage in cooperative exchanges with President Hsu Tai-wen, Vice Presidents Nan Fan-Hua and Lee Ming-An, the university's administrative team, and teachers involved in Matsu-related research. President Hsu Tai-wen expressed that the establishment of the Matsu campus by NTOU, which is committed to social service, has greatly assisted the marine industry in Matsu. The university's contributions in teaching, industry-academia collaboration, research, and tourism development have been valuable for the local community. The completion of the Matsu Student Dormitories is nearing, and President Hsu expressed gratitude for the county government's assistance. The university will also continue to improve the surrounding infrastructure and work hand in hand with the Lienchiang County Government. Through the university's efforts and marketing, the aim is to use industry-academia collaboration to transform Matsu into an international island. When Matsu thrives, NTOU thrives too!

Magistrate Wang Chung-ming stated that the Matsu campus of NTOU can be considered the alma mater of Matsu. The purpose of this visit was to observe the construction and operation of the alma mater and strengthen the connection with the university team. The Matsu campus of NTOU has provided significant assistance to Matsu's marine industry, including academic presentations on lobster rehabilitation, clam aquaculture, and blue tears ecological research. The university's young students have injected a lot of youthful vitality into Matsu, bringing innovative thinking and cultivating talents and resources for Matsu. Magistrate Wang expressed the intention to deepen the cooperation between Matsu and NTOU in the marine industry and to plan a series of industry-government-academia collaborations in the Matsu Distillery. This initiative aims to promote the educational development and academic research in Matsu, looking forward to the participation of outstanding students from the university to boost the sustainable development of Matsu's industries.

President Hsu Tai-Wen and Magistrate Wang Chung-Ming giving speechs.

During the exchange, NTOU held in-depth discussions with the Lienchiang County Government on topics such as collaboration in aquaculture between industry, government, and academia, algae cultivation, processing and sampling, coastal engineering, tourism, and cultural and creative development. They also visited the Coastal Engineering Laboratory, Ship Handling Simulator Room, and Aquatic Value-Added Sampling Center. Notably, the research on clam and kelp seedling techniques has made significant progress, with the Gongliao Seedling Breeding Center completing clam cultivation research and achieving a seedling production of 8 million seeds through industry-academia collaboration. The Aquatic Product Traceability and Inspection Center can help verify the origin of Matsu's aquatic products, and the Aquatic Value-Added Sampling Center can provide assistance in processing and product guidance, with the aim of increasing the overall production volume and improving the quality of Matsu's marine industry.

Furthermore, Matsu's seaweed has demonstrated excellent benefits in carbon sequestration. The cultivation of algae not only contributes to the development of surrounding products but also introduces the concept of marine carbon sinks and combines it with ecological guided tours, aligning with Taiwan's goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. While the land area of Matsu County is approximately 30 square kilometers, its sea area spans over 6,000 square kilometers, with nutrient-rich seawater. This provides a suitable environment for the growth of kelp and other seaweed species. Vice President Nan Fan-Hua further explained that through carbon capture and carbon sink initiatives, they aim to build Matsu into an "International Marine Carbon Sink Island." Magistrate Wang Chung-ming expressed his strong support for this endeavor.