Taiwan woos Dominican Republic with its tongue: EFE

Taipei.- Taiwan, which has provided thousands of scholarships in Latin American to study Chinese and obtain university degree in the island nation, on Tuesday said it sent 14 Chinese teachers to Latin America and the Caribbean to promote the study of that language, EFE reports.

Taipei’s announcement comes amid a sustained push by Beijing to increase trade with the Dominican Republic, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties with Santo Domingo.

The teachers will arrive in Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti and Dominican Republic among other nations this year to promote cultural exchange, said International Development and Cooperation Fund (TaiwanICDF) general secretary Weber Shih in a press conference.

He said Taiwan wants the world to study Chinese as a tool to foster bolster bilateral ties with political allies and friendly nations, noting that it’s the second year that groups of teachers are sent abroad.

TaiwanICDF has already sent 11 Chinese teachers to Nicaragua, El Salvador, Paraguay, Panama, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Palau, Jordan and the Solomon Islands.

Taipei also promotes Taiwanese studies at higher education centers around the world, to raise awareness on the island’s social, cultural and linguistic reality.