A free Mandarin-learning program designed to help migrant workers assimilate more easily is to be launched in Taoyuan early next month, the Taoyuan Migrant Workers Service Center announced on Wednesday.
The service center’s Mandarin program is to begin on March 6 and run for eight weeks with classes from 10am to midday every Sunday until April 24.
The program is to focus on language used in the workplace and other general conversation skills, aiming to provide basic knowledge of conversational Mandarin, an official at the center said on Thursday.
The basic-level course would cater to Indonesian, Vietnamese, Philippine and Thai workers who live in Taoyuan, and would split participants into two groups of about 20 to 30 students, with those from Thailand and Indonesia in one group, and those from the Philippines and Vietnam in the other, said the center, which is run by the Taoyuan Labor Bureau.
Splitting students into groups according to nationality would enable teaching staff to translate the instructions into their native languages if needed, it said.
When the eight-week course ends, a small ceremony would be held the following week to award the students certificates for completing the program, it added.
The free course is aimed at breaking down language barriers so that migrant workers can better communicate with their colleagues and employers, and assimilate more easily into Taiwanese society, it said.
Registration has begun for the classes, which are to be held at the city’s New Immigrant Culture Hall, the center said.
In addition to the language classes, the center is also to present a series of free dance classes, and arts and crafts activities on Sundays in March and the first Sunday in April from 1pm to 3pm, it said.
A street dance class is to be held on March 6, a 3D flower jelly-making class on March 13, a paper flower art class on March 20, a balloon art class on March 27 and a Hakka textile dyeing class on April 3, it said.
Migrant workers are encouraged to enroll for the activities, as participation is limited to about 15 students per class, the center said.
As of the end of last year, there were 113,247 migrant workers in Taoyuan — 37,719 from Vietnam, 32,881 from the Philippines, 25,770 from Indonesia and 16,877 from Thailand, Ministry of Labor data showed.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS