Premier William Lai wants Taiwan to make English its second official language. Will it actually help Taiwan’s language learners?

The News Lens
Date: 2018/08/30
By: Stellina Chen

Taibei chezhan … Taibei zong tai … Thoi-pet … Taipei Main Station…

First-time visitors to Taipei are often perplexed by the linguistic cacophony that is the Taipei MRT. As any regular passenger will tell you, station names are broadcast in four languages – and earlier this month, passengers at Taipei 101/World Trade Center started to hear five, with Japanese being added to the mix.

This charming custom has legal binding: per Article 6 of the Mass Transit Broadcast Language Equality Law and “the trend towards internationalization in Taipei,” according to the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, “all broadcasts will be made in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka and English.”

If Premier William Lai (賴清德) gets his way, Taiwan’s official language laws will soon be amended to include English along with Chinese. Executive Yuan spokesperson Kolas Yotaka said on Monday that Lai will present clear-cut goals next year for a government plan to make English into Taiwan’s second official language.    [FULL  STORY]