A Taiwanese-Philippine foundation on Sunday said that it has raised more than 10 million pesos (US$197,250) to recruit instructors from Taiwan to teach Mandarin at a college in Manila.
Taiwan-Philippines Educational Development Foundation president Kao Shih-cheng (高士誠) told a reception that the plan was conceived this year to address a shortage of Chinese-language teachers at Chiang Kai-shek College, which was established by Chinese Filipinos in 1939.
Many young people in the Philippines are unwilling to start a career teaching Chinese, mainly because they believe it is a profession that does not pay that well, Kao said.
Kao said that hopefully, the donated money would help bring talented instructors from Taiwan to fill the gap and promote the use of traditional Chinese characters at the college.
The donations were made possible with help from the Culture Center of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines and Taiwanese expatriates in the country, the foundation said.
Ma Li-ling (馬儷玲), director of the college’s Office for Chinese Academic Instruction, said she once asked a graduating student whether she would be interested in teaching at the school, but she rejected the offer, citing insufficient pay.
The student said she would rather work in the service industry, as the salaries were more attractive, Ma said.
Yu Cheng-tsai (尤正才), who heads the Taipei office in Manila, said that starting salaries for Chinese-language teachers in the Philippines are typically 20,000 pesos per month, comparable to starting salaries for schoolteachers in the Philippines.
This makes it difficult to recruit experienced teachers, let alone those with a post-graduate degree, Yu said.
With the fund, new teachers to the college from Taiwan are eligible for a monthly stipend of 15,000 pesos, he said.
Hopefully, local teachers will also be able to benefit from similar funds, Ma said.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
RSS