The US government is to increase funding for the Foundation for Scholarly Exchanges to US$1 million to boost the US-Taiwan Education Initiative, American Institute in Taiwan Director Sandra Oudkirk said on Tuesday.
The foundation — also known as Fulbright Taiwan — is sponsored by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Oudkirk made the comment at a conference at National Chung Cheng University.
The bilateral education initiative would help Taiwan attract students to study Mandarin in the country and realize its goal of becoming a fully bilingual nation by 2030, she said.
The US and Taiwan have worked closely in the field of education, and the two countries exchange thousands of educators and students annually, she added.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who attended the event by teleconference, said that the best way to bridge the cultural and societal gaps between the two countries is through collaboration in education.
The US Department of State has allocated substantial resources to improve scholarships in Taiwan over the past year, during which time 11 Taiwanese higher-learning institutions have launched Mandarin education programs with their US counterparts, he said.
Cheng Sheng-yao (鄭勝耀), director of the Graduate Institute of Education at the university said that making Taiwanese fluent in Mandarin and English is an important government policy.
The British Office in Taipei and the New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office attended the event, showing that the education initiative is of interest to the world, he added.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost