Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said he would instruct the Ministry of Education (MOE) to establish a promotional committee on making English the nation’s second official language.
Lai made the remarks in response to a question by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) during the Legislative Yuan’s plenary session.
Wu asked Lai whether he intended to follow his own example while serving as Tainan mayor and make English the nation’s second official language.
Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said that while there has been some qualitative increase in English-language education in the nation, it was still lacking, adding that the Ministry of Education would continue to promote English-language education.
The ministry would continue to examine whether to establish a task force on the matter, Pan said.
The importance of English in an increasingly globalized world needs no further emphasis, Lai said, adding that he made English an official language of the Tainan City Government precisely because it would increase the competitive edge of the city’s children.
The original plan was for the city’s businesses and universities, as well as the Tainan Bureau of Education, to make English the established second official language of the city within 10 years, he said.
Promoting an official language in a city is different from promoting it nationwide, Lai said, adding that the ministry might consider establishing a promotional committee to conduct preliminary research.
At a separate event yesterday, Jamie Lin (林之晨), a nominee for the Taiwan Junior Chamber’s list of 10 most distinguished youths, told Pan and Lai that the nation’s English-language education has failed, which would affect the government’s promotion of the New Southbound Policy and its economic transition plans.
Pan said the ministry would begin assembling a promotional committee comprised of academics and experts.
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday announced a ban on all current and former government officials from traveling to China to attend a military parade on Sept. 3, which Beijing is to hold to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War. "This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the Republic of China’s victory in the War of Resistance [Against Japan]," MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a regular news briefing in Taipei. To prevent Beijing from using the Sept. 3 military parade and related events for "united
‘OFFSHORE OPERATIONS’: Also in Dallas, Texas, the Ministry of Economic Affairs inaugurated its third Taiwan Trade and Investment Center to foster closer cooperation The 2025 Taiwan Expo USA opened on Thursday in Dallas, Texas, featuring 150 Taiwanese companies showcasing their latest technologies in the fields of drones, smart manufacturing and healthcare. The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the event’s organizer, said the exhibitors this year include Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (Foxconn), the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer; AUO; PC brand Asustek Computer; and drone maker Thunder Tiger. In his opening speech, TAITRA chairman James Huang (黃志芳) said he expected Texas to become a world-class center for innovation and manufacturing as US technology companies from Silicon Valley and Taiwanese manufacturers form an industrial cluster
A 20-year-old man yesterday evening was electrocuted and fell to his death after he climbed a seven-story-high electricity tower to photograph the sunset, causing a wildfire on Datong Mountain (大同山) in New Taipei City’s Shulin District (樹林), the Taoyuan Police Department said today. The man, surnamed Hsieh (謝), was accompanied on an evening walk by a 20-year-old woman surnamed Shang (尚) who remained on the ground and witnessed the incident, capturing a final photograph of her friend sitting atop the tower before his death, an initial investigation showed. Shang then sought higher ground to call for help, police said. The New Taipei
RSS