The mayor of the first city in the US with an Asian majority is fast learning the intricacies of diplomatic protocol in a bid to prevent a spat between China and Taiwan, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
At his recent swearing-in ceremony, Monterey Park Mayor Francisco Alonso invited representatives of both China and Taiwan, but he let neither of them give a speech, fearing that by letting one speak before the other, he would create an international incident.
Both representatives were introduced to the crowd -- with the Chinese delegate getting on stage before the Taiwanese official arrived. The Chinese delegate didn't applaud when his neighbor was introduced later in the ceremony, the paper noted.
Monterey Park's status as the first US city with an Asian majority means that it attracts dozens of delegations each year from mainland China and Taiwan, which China has vowed to take control of, using force if necessary. Any breach of etiquette could prove offensive to these representatives, so officials in Monterey Park, located just east of Los Angeles, take extreme care at all city functions.
For example, at city banquets, one representative cannot be seated closer than the other to the mayor's table. And at a recent Chinese Lantern Festival, the mayor made sure they were equidistant to him on a single row of chairs.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
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‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)