It is not only Taiwanese politicians who are eager to learn Hoklo (commonly known as "Taiwanese"). An increasing number of well known international universities -- including nine institutions each in Japan and the US -- are now offering accredited Hoklo language classes.
Last year, the Hoklo language craze reached Europe, where France's Universite de Lyon III added a Hoklo language program to its Chinese department, making it the first European university to offer such a program.
Professor Liu Kuang-neng (
PHOTO COURTESY OF PROFESSOR LIU KUANG-NENG, NATIONAL CENTRAL UNI
Gregory Lee (
The Universite de Lyon III's post-graduate Taiwanese Studies program is divided into two parts.
The first year of the program offers classes in Taiwanese film studies, and the second year focuses on Taiwanese history classes.
Liu said that although there are not very many students in the program now, it serves as a bridge for young French students who want to learn more about Taiwan.
Lee arrived with the university's president, Guy Lavorel, on Sunday evening, for a one-week stay.
The aim of their trip is to visit the institutes for Taiwanese literature at National Central University, National Taiwan University and Tsing Hua University in order to initiate exchanges with the three schools.
The National Central Library will also present the Universite de Lyon III with books on Taiwan studies.
On Thursday, Lavorel is scheduled to give a speech at National Central University.
Liu said that the fact that the EU promotes cultural diversity will help promote attempts to set up Hoklo-language programs in Chinese departments at universities throughout the EU.
By taking advantage of this wave of interest to initiate active exchanges with European universities and build a good impression of Taiwan in the eyes of young Europeans, the nation will be able to connect with the international community.
Learning Hoklo
Overseas universities and colleges offering courses in the Hoklo language.
Japan:
Nagoya University of Foreign Studies
Aichi University
Tenri University
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
Reitaku University
Daitobunka University
Keiyo University
Obirin University
Tsukuba University
North America:
University of Hawaii
University of California, Berkeley
Pennsylvania State University
Stanford University
Williams College
University of Michigan
Harvard University
University of Illinois
University of Colorado
Universities where student societies offer informal tuition in Hoklo: Yale University, Columbia University, Princeton University, Brown University and Massachussetts Institute of Technology.
Europe:
University de Lyon III
SourceL Professors Li Chin-an and Liu Kuang-neng.
RISK REMAINS: An official said that with the US presidential elections so close, it is unclear if China would hold war games or keep its reaction to angry words The Ministry of National Defense said it was “on alert” as it detected a Chinese aircraft carrier group to Taiwan’s south yesterday amid concerns in Taiwan about the possibility of a new round of Chinese war games. The ministry said in a statement that a Chinese navy group led by the carrier Liaoning had entered waters near the Bashi Channel, which connects the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean and separates Taiwan from the Philippines. It said the carrier group was expected to enter the Western Pacific. The military is keeping a close watch on developments and “exercising an
The China Coast Guard yesterday said it had “expelled” a Japanese ship from waters around the Diaoyutais (釣魚台). The uninhabited islands — which are known as the Senkakus in Japan — are claimed by Taipei and Beijing, but are administered by Tokyo. China Coast Guard spokesman Liu Dejun (劉德軍) said that a Japanese fishing vessel had “illegally entered territorial waters” around the islands from Tuesday to Wednesday. The coast guard “took necessary control measures in accordance with the law, warned [the ship] and expelled it,” Liu said in an online statement. “The Diaoyu and affiliated islands are China’s inherent territory and we urge the
RESILIENCE: Once the system is operational, there would be no need to worry about the risks posed by disasters or other emergencies on communication systems, an official said Taiwan would have 24-hour access to low Earth orbit satellites by the end of this month through service provided by Eutelsat OneWeb as part of the nation’s effort to enhance signal resilience, a Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) official said yesterday. Earlier this year the Ministry of Digital Affairs, which partnered with Chunghwa Telecom on a two-year project to boost signal resilience throughout the nation, said it reached a milestone when it made contact with OneWeb’s satellites half of the time. It expects to have the capability to maintain constant contact with the satellites and have nationwide coverage by the end
REACTION TO LAI: A former US official said William Lai took a step toward stability with his National Day speech and the question was how Beijing would respond US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday warned China against taking any “provocative” action on Taiwan after Beijing’s reaction to President William Lai’s (賴清德) speech on Double Ten National Day on Thursday. Blinken, speaking in Laos after an ASEAN East Asia Summit, called the speech by Lai, in which he vowed to “resist annexation,” a “regular exercise.” “China should not use it in any fashion as a pretext for provocative actions,” Blinken told reporters. “On the contrary, we want to reinforce — and many other countries want to reinforce — the imperative of preserving the status quo, and neither party taking any