| Work Advisory Warnings Taiwan |
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| Taiwan Island Wide Wages and Working Conditions of Foreign Teachers Deteriorating as a Direct Result of Race Discrimination by the Taiwan Ministry of Education. In a pair of published orders, http://www.tealit.com/tn.october12003.htm The Ministry of Education of Taiwan announced that as of October 1st, 2003 foreign teachers are no longer allowed to teach in Early Childhood Educational (ECE) schools, rescinding their May, 31st, 2002 directive that had allowed the practice. Early Childhood Educational (ECE) school teachers whose contracts were signed before October 1st will be allowed to finish the term of their contracts if not apprehended before then. Announcements were mailed to schools nationwide. From the onset of the May 31st order, groups of legislators and scholars had strongly criticized the presence of foreign teachers and second language classes in Early Childhood Educational (ECE) schools, arguing that Early Childhood Educational (ECE) schools-aged students were at risk of being not sufficiently socialized in their own language and culture. The Education Ministry cites specifically the issues of Early Childhood Development, Teacher Qualifications, and the growing cultural biases and competition between the variety of ?Western? Early Childhood Educational (ECE) schools teaching English. The announcement further mentions an August 27th, 2003 decision by the Executive Yuan as having forced their hand. Some commentators speculate that the issue is being used for political gain in the run up to the presidential elections. The new edict not only informs schools about the restriction on foreign teachers, but also contains a specific reminder to Early Childhood Educational (ECE) schools that they must comply with all relevant regulations or face prosecution, a statement that was interpreted by some as meaning schools using non-native designations even just in the names of their schools, such as ?bi-lingual?, ?American?, etc. could be censured. Also, while not in the directive, the Ministry of Education will remain responsible for certifying teachers to teach at all levels. Announcing that plans dictated in the WTO accession treaties to move the authority of Job Specific Work Permits (H1B) over to the Ministry of Labor's Non Indentured Servant Employee section have been pushed back to an unspecified completion date. All foreign nationals on Taiwan are advised that a majority of the elected and appointed government on Taiwan strongly oppose recognition of Non Chinese person's Human Rights. By the Taiwan governments own estimates over 90% of all foreigners working on Taiwan are endentured servants. |
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