“It is through the dedicated service of language teachers like Dr. Li, and cultural teachers like Teacher Weng, that our diplomats are able to learn Chinese and better understand how to communicate and interact with the wonderful people here,” said AIT Director Brent Christensen today at a ceremony dedicating the library in AIT’s Chinese Language and Area Studies School (CLASS) to Dr. Li Tsung-mi. Dr. Li is a “founding father” of the Chinese school now known as CLASS here at AIT. The dedication ceremony also dedicated a classroom to former painting teacher Weng Jing-chi, who taught students about Chinese painting as a means of adding cultural context to their language learning. The families of Dr. Li and Mr. Weng participated in today’s event. “Taiwan is a democratic role model, a reliable partner, and a force for good in the world. In addition, it’s also an amazing place to study Chinese. Studying here at CLASS was one of the highlights of my career, ” Director Christensen said at the ceremony.