Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Chen recall shows flawed process

Taipei Times Editorial

The recall vote for Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) on Saturday next week has little to do with his performance as a legislator representing Taichung’s second electoral district. It is a local issue, but not in the way that recalls are intended to be. More significantly, it concerns national, and even international, political power play.

Chen has had a target on his back ever since he won the seat in last year’s legislative elections as a dark-horse candidate against then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Yen Kuan-hen (顏寬恆).

Recall vote: KMT’s pro-China ploy

Liao I-en 廖宜恩

After his election last month as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman, Eric Chu (朱立倫) led a grandiose delegation of party officials down to Taichung to vilify and spread rumors about Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s only legislator, Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟), to stir up support for a vote to recall Chen. It was a great disappointment to see the leader of the nation’s biggest opposition party behave like this.

Ever since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, democracies around the world have strongly condemned China for concealing facts about the pandemic and shirking responsibility, for its “wolf warrior” diplomacy and for blocking Taiwan’s access to vaccines.

French delegates conclude Taiwan trip, return home

Taipei Times

Department of European Affairs Director-General Remus Chen, left, sees off a delegation of French senators at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Sunday following a five-day visit to the nation.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times

A delegation of French senators on Sunday departed Taiwan after concluding a five-day visit that included meetings with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other high-level government officials.

Tips for making Taiwan bilingual

Michael Riches

As Taiwan moves toward English-only instruction in 60 percent of elementary and high schools by 2024, with the goal of having a bilingual generation by 2030, the Ministry of Education is looking to ramp up the influx of foreign teachers. Hopefully the plans go beyond this simplistic road map, because some thorny matters need to be addressed.

One of these issues is a frustrating paradox that foreign English teachers in Asia often realize after putting in enough time in the classroom. Countries such as Taiwan, Japan and South Korea place great emphasis on English education, but their societies put up barriers that prevent the language from entering the culture.

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