In recent years, the entire world has undergone significant changes and Taiwan has, as well, encountered the challenge to overcome the bottleneck in transformation. In the long run, we must put forth greater efforts to strengthen advanced education, upgrade high-tech research, deepen social sciences and humanities studies so as to assure the overall cultural development. Only through these efforts can we possibly lead Taiwan into a more promising future.

     Currently in Taiwan, one of the stumbling blocks lying ahead of us is the lack of appropriate channels to bring back more high caliber human resources from abroad as well as stimulate those high caliber people already devoting themselves wholeheartedly to Taiwan. In the efforts to attract prominent talent people world wide to serve in Taiwan, we have faced the practical problem in providing suitable education for their children from overseas and adequate housing . The current salary level fixed by the government has been unable to meet the rising costs of decent housing for the family and essential educational arrangements for their children. On the other hand, due to the lack of progressive reward systems those returned talent or locally trained scholars have not been encouraged to develop their potential to the fullest extent.

     Dr. Yuan-Tseh Lee, President of Academia Sinica and Nobel Laureate has, therefore, appealed to the business community and the society at large to set up this Foundation. The goal is to raise NT $ I billion as the Foundation's endowment. With the interests accruing from the fund, we will be able to secure adequate financial sources to help attract more prominent scholars and experts from abroad to serve in Taiwan and experts from abroad to serve in Taiwan and to reward prominent academics and researchers who long devoted themselves to the advancement of this nation's scholarships.

     It is our long-term objectives to support one hundred outstanding scholars every year, and expect that with the Foundation's assistance, they can further develop their fullest research potential and even demonstrate academic leadership in all scientific and scholarly fields. It is indeed our earnest hope that, as a result office Foundation's efforts, in certain scientific and scholarly areas, Taiwan will be upgraded to the world level within five years.

     Technological advancement will directly and indirectly benefit the long range development of commerce, industry and other aspects of social and cultural development. This foresighted outlook must be shared by all people in a modern nation like Taiwan. If we fail to effectively develop the necessary high quality human resources to sustain the "economic miracle" Taiwan has achieved, we will sooner or later lag behind. Here in the Foundation, we firmly believe that in Taiwan, we should not only pursue perpetual economic growth and a better quality of life for all, but we should try with all our efforts to possess the world's top notch scientific talents and cultural resources.

     With the aforementioned firm conviction, the Foundation for the Advancement of Outstanding Scholarship (FAOS) as a cultural and educational foundation in nature, aims to enhance this nation's educational, high-tech, scientific and socio-cultural development. The Foundation has officially been approved by the ministry of education and registered in the Taipei Court in November 1994.