No specific laws exist to address racial discrimination when it comes to hiring foreign English teachers, says Ling Tzu-huei of the Department of Social Education. As long as the teachers are being paid the national minimum wage of NT$15,840 a month, the law has little else to say about their rights.
Caucasian policy
English teachers at Hess have been told by company representatives that when Hess opened in 1983, the organization originally had a policy to only hire Caucasians with North American accents. "I was told that the policy didn't reflect the company as much as it reflected the nature of the market at that time," says Wilda Lin, a Chinese American currently teaching for Hess. A company representative denied such a policy ever officially existed.
In any case, as Hess rapidly expanded -- it is now the largest English teaching corporation in Taiwan with more than 100 branches -- it has had to cast a wide net to meet its need for teachers. Of the more than 200 foreign English teachers currently employed by Hess, about 15 percent are of Chinese descent, says Eleanor Chong, a recruiter for Hess. The only requirement is that applicants hold a passport from an English speaking country. Two-thirds of the foreign teachers are from Canada or the US; the remaining third hail from Great Britain, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
"We don't discriminate at all," Chong says. "The parents may want white teachers, but we still hire ABCs and colored people and see it as our job to educate the parents."
Problems are regional
Cecilia Wan, born in England to Chinese parents, says the preference for white English teachers extends beyond Taiwan to other Asian cities and countries. While living in Hong Kong two summers ago, she applied for a job that required a "native English speaker" and was quickly dismissed. "They blatantly told me `You're Chinese, not Caucasian. You can't teach our kids,'" Wan says.
Wan now teaches for Hess, but thinks that as recently as three years ago, it would have been difficult for her to get the job. "Back then, before there were so many branches, if you were an American born, British born or Canadian born Chinese, forget about landing a position," she says.
Parents of her students are often surprised to learn that she is the English teacher, but most of them soon move beyond the initial shock. One mother, however, demanded copies of every piece of teaching material to monitor the way Wan taught her child.
Despite such reactions, Wan thinks that looking Chinese gives her an advantage with the children. "I know about the culture, and the kids open up to me a bit more quickly."
Back in the classroom with "Teacher Tina," the children eagerly volunteer to spell out words on the board and carefully trace the letter "T" in their workbooks with colorful markers. The girls, who just beat the boys in the game of "Snakes and Ladders," join hands and do a victory dance.
"The kids are happy and they're learning," Becker says. "That's all that should matter. But unfortunately, that isn't the case."
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