[lg policy] Diplomat exam ignores Southeast Asian languages

[Harold Schiffman]

Diplomat exam ignores Southeast Asian languages
By Lu Yi-hsuan  /  Staff reporter

This year’s special examination for consular and diplomatic personnel does
not have any exam groups for Southeast Asian languages, despite the
government’s “new southbound policy” that aims to improve relations with
Southeast Asian nations.

The nation’s diplomats have to pass the examination to begin their
training, with the exam being divided into different language groups, but
this year’s exam brochure listed English, French, Japanese and German among
other non-Southeast Asian languages.

In response to queries about the lack of an exam group for Southeast Asian
languages, an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it has
been sending its personnel to Southeast Asian nations to learn their
languages each year and it would continue the policy instead of opening
language groups in the entrance exam.

Regulations stipulate that the ministry would recruit 30 to 40 diplomatic
personnel through the exam.

The available positions are divided into several language groups. The 42
positions opened this year are divided into 10 language groups: English,
French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Arabic, Korean, Russian, Italian and
Portuguese, with 26 positions for English, amounting to about 60 percent of
all positions, while the other groups each have one or two open positions.

The ministry said the number of teachers and graduates of Southeast Asian
languages in the nation are limited and the nation’s diplomatic scale is
small to medium, so it would be “unfair” if each new diplomatic personnel
would only be sent to one nation.

The ministry said that it has its personnel learn Southeast Asian languages
as a second foreign language by sending them to Southeast Asian nations and
holding language classes at its Institute of Diplomacy and International
Affairs, adding that it would continue to implement the method next year.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Karen Yu (余宛如) said that
language is the starting point of communication, adding: “We say we want to
go south, but we do not respect their languages.”

Yu said she hopes the examination would open positions for people fluent in
Southeast Asian languages to create demand, so that the supply would
increase.

DPP Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said the lack of such positions this
year is the result of the previous government’s policies, so he would not
criticize the ministry, but added that the ministry should actively provide
chances and attract such talent in the future to coordinate with the new
policy.

Chung said that many women from Southeast Asian nations live in Taiwan and
their children — “Taiwan’s new children” — are the best candidates for
diplomats, so the government should establish scholarships to encourage
students to learn about Southeast Asian affairs.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday last week approved the guidelines
for establishing the “new southbound policy office,” which is to operate
under the Presidential Office budget.

James Huang (黃志芳), a former foreign minister who has been designated to
head the policy office, said that the goal of the policy is to “turn ASEAN
into an extension of Taiwan’s domestic market.”

According to the Presidential Office, the policy office will be a task
force whose staff members will come from the Presidential Office or other
government agencies, either on special assignments or on loan.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2016/06/20/2003649050


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