Bilingual policy has lost sight of its visionBy Keith M. GrahamA recent Taipei Times editorial (“A targeted bilingual policy,” March 12, page 8) questioned how the Ministry of Education can justify spending NT$151 million (US$4.74 million) when the spotlighted achievements are English speech competitions and campus tours. In the early years of Bilingual 2030, the ministry’s K-12 Administration promoted the Bilingual Instruction in Select Domains Program (部分領域課程雙語教學實施計畫). However, the current program steps back from that preparation, creating a disconnect between the bilingual policy at different education levels. If Taiwan is to go forward pursuing the original vision for the bilingual education policy, then the ministry should return to promoting bilingual teaching in schools to realign the K-12 policy with that of higher education and the National Development Council’s broader economic vision. However, the recent shift in the ministry’s approach to the K-12 bilingual policy signals that there might not be the political will to do so.

Source: Taipei Times March 19, 2026 03:44 UTC