CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY
Taiwan is preparing to open academies in Los Angeles and Houston to promote Taiwanese culture and help Americans understand the value of traditional Chinese characters, a senior official said Wednesday.
“The initiative to set up a Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles and Houston is entering a final stage and could be put in practice as soon as the end of this year,” said Emile Sheng, minister of the Council for Cultural Affairs (CCA).
Fielding questions at a hearing of the Legislative Yuan’s Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, Sheng said the CCA will discuss details regarding the Taiwan Academy initiative with other government agencies in May and that if all goes well, the program to promote the study of traditional Chinese characters and introduce Taiwanese culture will be launched late this year.
Sheng admitted that the Taiwan Academy initiative echoes China’s efforts to set up Confucius Institutes to promote Chinese language and culture.
China has so far established more than 500 Confucius Institutes around the world. The rapidly growing number of Confucius Institutes has even prompted some Americans into thinking that Confucianism is a religion, according to ruling Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Chiang Nai-hsin.
Speaking at the same session, KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu said Taiwan should not sit idly by while China actively promotes Chinese language and culture, as Taiwan has been a stronghold for preserving traditional Chinese culture.
