The government is planning to open government-funded Mandarin teaching centers in Japan, Australia and New Zealand next year before expanding the project to Latin America, a senior official in charge of the program said today.
Fielding questions on the Overseas Community Affairs Council's (OCAC) proposed budget for next year during a legislative session, OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) was asked about the council's plan for the Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning (TCML) program.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Hsu said that 88 TCMLs are in operation around the world at present, with 68 in the US and 20 in 12 European countries.
The OCAC is planning to open TCMLs in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America from next year to 2029 to expand the program's global presence, she added.
The council is planning to open two TCMLs in Japan, one in New Zealand and four in Australia next year alone, Hsu said.
According to the OCAC, the TCML program was launched in June 2021 to create overseas bases for teaching Mandarin "with Taiwanese characteristics" — meaning using traditional Chinese characters instead of the simplified characters used in China — to people aged over 18.
To date, teaching materials have been prepared in English, French, German, Spanish, Polish, Indonesia and Vietnamese.
Through Mandarin courses and cultural activities, the centers seek to foster cultural exchanges, popularize Mandarin learning, and deepen the relationship between Taiwan and people in the centers' host countries, the OCAC said.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS