With the Cabinet's approval of a national languages development draft law, language policy in Taiwan made a breakthrough in the law's twin goals of "localization and internationalization," and the first has already been achieved. Internationalization is the next step.
Taiwan is an island with multiple languages and cultures. After the Japanese era, Taiwanese, Hakka and Aboriginal languages were suppressed by the powerful Chinese authorities, and some nearly died out completely. The draft law can help revive them. It's not related to independence; it's just sensible language policy.
With greater economic development, internationalization has become the focus.
Many people study English because it is a global language. Chinese is now gaining ground.
The Taiwanese government should adjust its language strategy with practical measures.
English is a second language in Hong Kong and Singapore, but people in both cities can still speak Chinese well. They are good examples for Taiwan.
The draft law is a great start to the "localization" goal. But localization and internationalization are both important. And the policy makers should seek correct language policy instead of votes.
Henry Wu
Kaohsiung
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