Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Reviving English-language policy

Taipei Times Editorial

Control Yuan member Peter Chang (張武修) on Friday last week issued a report instructing the Ministry of Education to investigate why four universities that are receiving special funding to offer more English-language courses have failed to do so.

Less than 1 percent of these schools’ expenditures have gone toward improving English courses, while the offerings of such courses had either remained the same or declined, and none had a metric to determine course quality or screen students for their English-language ability.

Group urges Asia Cement to negotiate with locals

Taipei Times

An environmental group yesterday called on Asia Cement Corp to negotiate with Truku people living near its quarry in Hualien County’s Sinchengshan (新城山) as required by a recent court ruling, rather than posting advertisements to spread rumors.

The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday last week asked the Ministry of Economic Affairs to revoke its approval of the firm’s permit renewal for the mine, after four Truku people filed a lawsuit against the ministry in 2017.

Strides in human rights diplomacy

Taipei Times Editorial

Taiwan might still be barred from the World Health Assembly and UN events, but two news items show that it continues to quietly make strides in areas where China blatantly fails.

After hosting the Oslo Freedom Forum in November last year, Taiwan this year is to remain the forum’s only Asian destination since its inception in 2009.

Organizers last week announced that it would return to Taiwan in September, explicitly saying that it is a symbolic move to hold two consecutive forums in Taiwan focusing on human rights, democracy and freedom.

KMT’s China talks must be probed

Taipei Times Editorial

Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) has been racking up a lot of air miles in the past few months, shuttling between Taiwan and Chinese cities to participate in secretive talks with Chinese officials.

The latest confab took place on July 4, with Hung leading a delegation to a “cross-strait forum” in Tianjin, which was held behind closed doors with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Liu Jieyi (劉結一) and other Chinese officials.

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