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Taiwan to make English an official second language next year: Premier Lai
Taiwan News ^ | 2018/08/27 12:22 | Huang Tzu-ti

Posted on 08/27/2018 11:12:06 PM PDT by Zhang Fei

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan will adopt a top-down approach to promoting bilingualism centered on Chinese and English as soon as next year in a bid to boost international competitiveness, said Premier William Lai (賴清德).

In an interview with UDN, Lai remarked that the government is heeding public calls to help improve English proficiency for the people of Taiwan, citing a proposition regarding the issue jointly submitted by some members of the Academia Sinica to President Tsai Ing-wen.

During his stint as the Mayor of Tainan City, Lai spent a decade implementing English as the second official language for the municipality in southern Taiwan, which was a well-received measure among the locals, Lai touted.

(Excerpt) Read more at taiwannews.com.tw ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: china; taiwan
I believe Hong Kong already has something beyond this, where in certain schools, all subjects except languages were taught in English, meaning that English was essentially the first language. The Chinese takeover has thrown that in reverse as a matter of party edict. Still, this is an interesting development for Taiwan.
1 posted on 08/27/2018 11:12:06 PM PDT by Zhang Fei
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To: Zhang Fei

Yay! Anything pro-Western in that part of the world is a good thing.


2 posted on 08/27/2018 11:13:31 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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To: Zhang Fei

I believe India also has a national policy similar to this.


3 posted on 08/27/2018 11:16:10 PM PDT by cba123 ( Toi la nguoi My. Toi bay gio o Viet Nam.)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

I was in Taiwan years ago and had a young engineer as my guide. He introduced himself with his given name, but then said “You can call me Carl.”

“Carl? That doesn’t sound anything like your given name!?”

“It was given to me in grade school when we all started learning English. She went down the row - Allen, Bill, Carl, etc. and those names stuck with us!”


4 posted on 08/27/2018 11:40:26 PM PDT by 21twelve
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To: Zhang Fei

English is darn near the official second language here, sadly.


5 posted on 08/27/2018 11:56:26 PM PDT by llevrok (Vote while it's still legal.)
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To: Zhang Fei
I think I may have been the first foreign partner in an English language school in Taipei in 1977.

My Taiwanese partner got all the students, and I wrote the curriculum and hired the
English-speaking students in Taipei either as travelers or as students studying Chinese.

Mainland China was still closed, so all of us students from the west studying Chinese
went to Taipei.

Beautiful memories...
6 posted on 08/28/2018 12:15:21 AM PDT by jobim
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To: Zhang Fei

Why not just have English as a required course? It seems silly to make English a second language. Taiwan is a Chinese country and already has an official language, Chinese. And it was never a British colony like Hong Kong or Singapore, so it does not make sense historically or culturally.


7 posted on 08/28/2018 2:37:54 AM PDT by Unam Sanctam
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To: cba123

In India English is probably the best language to unite the country; they have two main languages (generally Hindi in the north and Tamil in the south) and countless local dialects, and therefore lack a common language.

Red China itself is basically pushing English for its educated people as well.


8 posted on 08/28/2018 2:41:46 AM PDT by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: Unam Sanctam

“Why not just have English as a required course? It seems silly to make English a second language. Taiwan is a Chinese country and already has an official language, Chinese. And it was never a British colony like Hong Kong or Singapore, so it does not make sense historically or culturally.”

Nearly every student there takes English regardless. Same in the PRC. English is the unofficial international language and thereby becoming fluent in it is a ticket to a good job.


9 posted on 08/28/2018 2:47:11 AM PDT by snoringbear (W,E.oGovernment is the Pimp,)
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To: Zhang Fei

The US seems to be working toward “Press 2 for English” so is the world about to flip?


10 posted on 08/28/2018 3:35:23 AM PDT by Truth29
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To: Zhang Fei; cba123
Like many Freepers I've done a fair amount of traveling in my day.Europe,Asia,Africa and South America to be precise.

More specifically my travels have taken me to a number of countries/regions that are part of Britain's colonial past...Hong Kong,India,several countries in East Africa and southern Africa being just a few.In those travels I've found that the better educated a person is the more likely he/she is to be at least "conversant",if not fluent,in English.

English is one of Hong Kong's "official" languages as it is in India,Tanzania,Kenya and South Africa.It's interesting,and gratifying,to hear that Taiwan will be making English an "official language".Too bad the United States doesn't declare it *the* official language.

11 posted on 08/28/2018 4:01:22 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (I've Never Owned Slaves...You've Never Picked Cotton.End Of "Discussion".)
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To: Gay State Conservative

Nice tag line.


12 posted on 08/28/2018 4:15:05 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: Zhang Fei

Singapore adopted English as official more than 50 years ago.
Nice to see Taiwan catching up.


13 posted on 08/28/2018 4:19:58 AM PDT by Macoozie (Handcuffs and Orange Jumpsuits)
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To: Unam Sanctam
And it was never a British colony like Hong Kong or Singapore, so it does not make sense historically or culturally.

Except that Taiwan has seen what English proficiency has done to Hong Kong and Singapore and would like to get in on the action. Nothing wrong with that.

14 posted on 08/28/2018 6:11:07 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (ObaMao: Fake America, Fake Messiah, Fake Black man. How many fakes can you fit into one Zer0?)
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To: Vigilanteman

The Philippines (with their call center business) and So. Korea (higher up the food chain) have done very well in the region with their relatively strong English proficiency.


15 posted on 08/28/2018 6:20:42 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: Macoozie

“Singapore adopted English as official more than 50 years ago. Nice to see Taiwan catching up.”


Singapore was a British colony, and the “local” language (Malay) is spoken at home by a minority of the population, with most Singaporeans being descendants of Chinese immigrants who speak Mandarin or some other Chinese dialect. English already was used by the government, and, besides, it was the only way for Malay speakers and Chinese speakers to communicate with each other.

Taiwan adopting English as an official language is something markedly different, and it is a sign that the government is doubling down on its allegiance with the U.S. The U.S. should stop playing along with that “One China” song and dance and recognize the government of Taiwan as the rightful ruler of the island formerly known as Formosa. If the Red Chinese don’t like it, they can add it to their list of grievances.


16 posted on 08/28/2018 6:24:10 AM PDT by AuH2ORepublican (If a politician won't protect innocent babies, what makes you think that he'll defend your rights?)
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To: 9YearLurker
The Philippines has had a long association with the United States, accidental colony from 1903 until full independence just after the war (also on July 4), then more than another half century of hosting U.S. bases before we were asked to leave.

The South Korean experience was far less extensive. During my travels there on business, I actually found my second language (Japanese) was more likely to be understood than my first (English).

17 posted on 08/28/2018 6:35:02 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (ObaMao: Fake America, Fake Messiah, Fake Black man. How many fakes can you fit into one Zer0?)
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To: Vigilanteman

When I was in Seoul in the ‘80s on business the English there was very good, as it was taught from grade school. And the population was very pro-American. The Japanese interrelationship was arguably closer longer term, but with much more resentment against the Japanese than the Americans, who were allies and more recently a major presence—militarily and in civil society, etc.


18 posted on 08/28/2018 6:50:11 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: 21twelve

Thats awesome. Opens doors, breaks down barriers...So happy English is the main language of the world but I too wish I spent more care in acquiring a foreign language...although I do speak Korean conversationally because that’s where my mom’s side of the family is from.


19 posted on 08/28/2018 7:41:16 AM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
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