Taiwan and the U.S. sign education initiative to strengthen language cooperation to promote orthographic Chinese language teaching into mainstream society as soon as possible
On April 19 and 20, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Council of the Republic of China held an online symposium for overseas Chinese media to discuss the promotion of overseas Chinese language education. From left: Huang Zhengjie, a special commissioner of the Overseas Chinese Education Division; Tong Zhenyuan, chairman of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Council; and Guo Shuzhen, president of the Overseas Chinese News Agency. (Courtesy of New York Overseas Chinese Cultural and Educational Service Center)
The current wave of “Chinese language fever” around the world, coupled with the closure of Confucius Institutes run by the Chinese Communist Party, has led European and American countries to look to Taiwan to fill the gap in demand for Chinese language instruction. Therefore, on December 2 last year, Taiwan and the United States signed the Taiwan-US Education Initiative to strengthen language cooperation between them. Overseas Chinese Affairs Council Chairman Tong Chun-yuan recently said that the Council has launched the “Taiwan Chinese Language Learning Center” program to speed up the entry into the local mainstream society and replace the Confucius Institute.
In order to discuss how to make the advantages of Taiwan’s Chinese language more widely available in countries around the world, and to spread Taiwan’s democratic and free culture to the rest of the world, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Council held two online seminars for overseas Chinese media on April 19 and 20 with the theme of overseas Chinese language education promotion. The two-day conference was attended by a total of 56 participants, including the heads, chief editors or journalists of overseas Chinese media in Europe and the United States, and was attended by Huang Zhengjie, a special member of the Overseas Chinese Education Division of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Council, and Guo Shuzhen, president of the Overseas Chinese News Agency.
The picture shows the speech of the Chairman of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission of the Republic of China, Mr. Tong Chun-yuan. (Courtesy of New York Overseas Chinese Cultural and Educational Service Center)
Chairman of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, Mr. Tong Zhenyuan, said that in recent years, the Confucius Institutes established by mainland China around the world have been repeatedly questioned by various countries as exporting “sharp power” to the outside world, influencing public opinion, manipulating ideology and interfering with academic freedom. Since last year, the United States, Canada and many other countries have had serious doubts about the teaching of Chinese language in Confucius Institutes in various countries. The main reason is that the Chinese Communist government, through the Confucius Institutes, is trying to instill some Chinese Communist ideology, and there are many restrictions on the teaching of Chinese language and the use of repressive teaching methods. As a result, universities and educational institutions in the United States, Canada, France, Australia, and other countries have closed their Confucius Institutes.
At this time of global “Chinese language fever,” the Republic of China Taiwan’s quality Chinese language education will have a broader scope for expansion in countries around the world, and the Overseas Chinese Affairs Council, as the main organization promoting overseas Chinese education, is duty-bound to contribute its efforts. Therefore, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Council has launched the “Taiwan Chinese Language Learning Center” program to encourage overseas Chinese schools in Europe and the United States to apply for the establishment of such centers and to work together with the local mainstream society to promote the teaching of Chinese languages in orthographic characters, so that orthodox, more open, more democratic and free teaching methods can enter the mainstream society as soon as possible, replacing Confucius Institutes.
The Committee also expects to hold an International Summit on Chinese Language Teaching in Taiwan at the end of this year, inviting Chinese language teachers from all over the world to Taiwan to exchange teaching experiences and establish partnerships.
On April 19 and 20, the OCTC held an online seminar for overseas Chinese media in North America to discuss the promotion of Chinese language education overseas. A group photo of the media participants. (Courtesy of New York Overseas Chinese Cultural and Educational Service Center)
Huang Zhengjie, a member of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Division of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Council, explained that the Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning (TCLL) must use the TCC’s teaching materials to teach in orthographic characters, and docketed overseas Chinese schools of a certain size can apply to set up the center. The Center for Mandarin Learning is open to non-Chinese mainstream community members over the age of 18 in areas with intensive Chinese language learning, and the second and third generations of Chinese who are unfamiliar with the Chinese language are also enrolled, in the hope that the Chinese language will be more widely promoted to mainstream society. This year, due to the epidemic, classes are expected to start in September after the establishment of each Chinese language center, and applications are due on April 26. At the end of the year, all center leaders will be invited to Taiwan to attend a summit to gather all the energy in Taiwan and brainstorm ways to promote Chinese language learning, and welcome overseas Chinese schools in Europe and the United States to join the event.
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