Open letter to Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung
致教育部長潘文忠的公開信
Dear Minister [of Education] Pan [Wen-chung (潘文忠)],
致潘部長
On April 1st 2021, you could hear celebrations happening all over the world when, after more than a year of waiting, Huayu Enrichment Scholarship recipients were once again allowed into Taiwan to pursue further education in order to achieve our academic and professional goals. This also opened the way for more categories of overseas students to be considered to enter the country in the future, including non-scholarship-recipient Mandarin students.
2021年4月1日，你可能聽到了來自世界不同地方的慶祝的聲音——在等待了超過一年之後，華語獎學金學生得以再次入境台灣，追求我們學術和專業的目標。這也將為更多類別的境外學生（包括非獎學金華語學生）的入境開路。
However, what seemed to be a dream turned into a nightmare and our happiness and relief were short lived. COVID-19 cases started appearing in Taiwan in May, before we had even managed to set foot in the country, and we watched in horror as the situation escalated. No one expected such a situation to happen in a nation which contained the spread of coronavirus successfully and our thoughts were with the Taiwanese people who now had to experience what the rest of world had been experiencing for more than a year.
然而，美夢成了惡夢，我們的歡欣鼓舞稍縱即逝。五月，台灣爆發COVID-19疫情，我們還沒能踏足台灣，就驚恐地看到疫情迅速惡化。沒有人預料到，這個情況出現在曾經成功控制疫情的國家。我們心繫台灣人民，得知台灣正在經歷世界其他國家經歷了超過一年的疫情，感到非常難過。
The increase of COVID-19 cases were extremely concerning and we have been watching, hoping, praying and wishing ever since that the quick and resolute actions taken by Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command (CECC) would be helpful in eradicating the virus. Fortunately, the swift response from the CECC has paid off: COVID-19 cases in Taiwan are now decreasing fast and the situation has improved drastically. This outcome would not have been possible without the efforts of the Taiwanese people, who withstood the scourge of COVID-19 in an exemplary manner. International students like us agonized with the Taiwanese as the cases increased, and we have celebrated Taiwan’s success as the cases have been declining these days.
COVID-19案例的增長非常令人憂心，我們在關注、期待、祈禱，希望台灣中央流行疫情指揮中心（下簡稱疫情指揮中心）快速果斷的措施能夠有效消滅病毒。幸運的是，疫情指揮中心應對及時，取得成效：台灣確診人數迅速下降，疫情急劇好轉。台灣人民抗擊疫情的舉措堪稱表率，沒有他們的努力台灣抗疫不會取得今天的成果。我們這些國際學生，疫情惡化時跟台灣人民一同痛苦；這幾天疫情好轉，我們也跟台灣人民一樣慶祝台灣成功抗疫。
This is why we are writing to you, as the recipients of the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship (華語文獎學金) and non-scholarship language students, some of whom have been waiting since March 2020 when the borders were closed the first time, as well as Chinese language teachers. As the situation has been stabilized and the Level 3 alert will be lifted soon, we humbly ask MOE to honour its words and prioritize Huayu Enrichment Scholarship students so we can begin our studies this fall, alongside the degree students. We would also like to ask MOE to start reviewing the possibility for non-scholarship students to be able to study in Taiwan again.
因此，作為華語文獎學金學生和非獎學金學生，我們寫這封信給您。我們中的一些同學一些華語老師，早在2020年3月台灣封關，就開始等待入境就學。隨著疫情穩定下來，台灣即將解除三級警戒，我們懇求教育部兌現承諾，優先允許華語獎學金學生入境，讓這些學生能與學位生一起在秋季學期開始學習。我們也懇請教育部重新考慮讓非獎學金學生再次入境台灣的可能性。
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students from all over the world, who were given the chance to study in Taiwan, had to postpone their studies. Even if this is a precautionary measure to keep the Taiwanese safe, other countries (i.e. South Korea and Singapore) have also closed their borders but still allow international students in.
因為COVID-19疫情，來自全世界的來台學習的學生都延遲了學業。雖然封關能夠保證台灣人的安全，但是同樣封關的其他國家（例如南韓和新加坡）仍然允許國際學生入境。
The reason we are writing to you at this point in time is because we feel that there is still a chance to begin our studies this fall, if the decision to let us in is made now. Those who have been awarded 12 months could make full use of the time that they were given as Huayu recipients and those who already have financial commitments in Taiwan will get a relief sooner.
我們在此刻寫信給您，因為我們認為，如果現在能允許我們入境，我們仍然有可能在秋季學期開始學習。這樣的話，獲得12個月獎學金的華語生，能夠充份利用12個月的學習時間；而在台灣已經找到工作機會的華語生，能夠早點解決經濟問題。
Mandarin students have already been waiting for so long, and the continuous uncertainty is still an issue and difficult to learn how to live with. All we want is to begin our studies once and for all, and the fall term would be the ideal time for us to enter the country. Some language centers have even expressed that it will be possible to study online while in quarantine, which could be a solution to the time we have to spend self-isolating.
華語學生已經等了太長時間，未來仍然持續充滿不確定性，這讓我們難以忍受。我們想要能夠沒有任何問題地開始學習，秋季學期是我們入境的理想時間。部份語言中心表示，在疫情期間能夠提供有品質的線上教學，這就能夠解決我們入境之後檢疫期間的學習問題。
Mandarin Chinese has become more and more popular over the years. The language plays an important role on the international stage, and students from all over the world are determined to live in Mandarin-speaking countries to improve their skills in this language. Nations like Taiwan offer high-quality scholarships for international students, such as the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship (HES). This scholarship allows non-native Chinese speakers to stay in the country for 3 to 12 months in order for them to learn Mandarin and find out more about the beautiful island of Formosa.
這幾年中文變得越來越流行，在國際舞台上，中文扮演非常重要的角色。來自世界各地的學生非常想在中文國家生活以提高語言水平。台灣提供國際學生豐厚的獎學金，例如「華語文獎學金」。這個獎學金允許母語非華語的學生在台灣居留3至12個月，學習華語，並了解福爾摩沙這個美麗的島嶼。
The purpose of the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship is to “encourage talented young people to undertake Mandarin language courses in Taiwan and to promote knowledge, understanding and friendship of people in the global community”. Promoting knowledge of Taiwan is one of the most important ways for Taiwan to achieve international recognition. By allowing HES and other Mandarin students into the country, Taiwan can nurture future international ambassadeurs of the island, and this could subsequently lead to more important roles on the international stage in the future. Taiwan also has the opportunity to show the world that it welcomes all students even during pandemic times, which would raise the reputation of the country internationally.
設立「華語文獎學金」的目的是「鼓勵有天賦的年輕人在台灣學習華語，在國際社會推廣知識，增進理解，推動民間友好」。台灣文化的推廣是台灣獲得國際認可的重要方式。透過招收華語文獎學金學生和其他華語學生，台灣能夠培養未來島國的國際大使，進而未來能夠在國際舞台上扮演重要角色。台灣也有機會向全世界展示，即使在疫情期間，它仍然歡迎所有的學生，這能提高台灣的國際聲譽。
Furthermore, since the scholarship is awarded by the government, the same government should not be preventing its awardees from seizing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of broadening horizons and getting to know the culture and languages of Taiwan.
此外，既然獎學金是政府頒發的，政府不應該阻礙獲獎學生抓住一生一次的機會，開闊眼界，學習台灣的文化和語言。
Another aspect of this has been that not allowing HES and non-scholarship language students into Taiwan, is affecting more than just the students. During the past year, language teachers have really been struggling and a lot of teachers are now unemployed because of the sharp decline of language students. All of the effort that has been made so far to further Taiwan's position as a reliable hub for Chinese language learning, is now fading away.
另一方面，禁止華語文獎學金學生和非獎學金學生入境，不只影響了學生。在過去的一年，華語教師難以維生，因為語言學生數量迅速減少，很多教師正在失業。至今所有打造台灣成為可信賴的華語教學基地的努力，將會功虧一簣。
Not a lot of students will opt for learning a language online because unlike other subjects, there also needs to be immersion, you need to live and breath the language to fully be able to grasp it. There is also the concern of technical issues that will interfere with learning.
不多學生選擇線上學習語言，因為不同於其他學科，語言的學習需要沈浸在語言環境中，才能充分掌握。此外，技術的問題也有可能影響學習效果。
On the other hand, even if the situation of the pandemic forced Mandarin students to attend our lessons online, being physically in Taiwan would still allow us to have some day-to-day interactions with Taiwanese people and have real life conversations when buying food or other local products.
另一方面，即使疫情迫使華語學生不得不線上學習，身處台灣也能讓我們跟台灣人有日常交流，買東西的時候有機會跟台灣人有真實生活的對話。
In addition, it should be taken into account that we will gladly obey and respect every social distancing rule there is, as well as the border measures of 4 tests, 14 days (21 days for some) of quarantine and 7 days of self-health management when arriving in the country. We care about the safety of the Taiwanese people, as well as our own and we will do whatever is required of us.
此外，我們樂意遵守入境後的所有規則，包括保持社交距離，配合邊境管理做4次檢測，14天（或者21天）的入境檢疫，7天的自主健康管理。我們關心台灣人民的安全，也重視自己的健康，我們將會謹守防疫要求。
Finally, we would like to stress that choosing Taiwan to learn Mandarin Chinese is beneficial for the image of the country. This would fulfill the goal of turning Taiwan into an international center for the study and research of the Chinese language. Nonetheless, the pandemic has rendered it impossible for language students to move to Taiwan. This contradicts the very essence of the plan of the Ministry of Education. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this opportunity of making Taiwan a Chinese-learning hub remains unique, as students wanting to immerse themselves in this language are unable to go elsewhere to study the language. However, such a golden opportunity is not being seized. Online learning is the only current option for people who want to study Chinese, but it does not guarantee fluency. We should travel to Taiwan and meet Taiwanese people in order to better understand the culture and traditions. Only by living like a local can a language truly be learned.
最後，我們希望強調，華語學生選擇來台學習中文，有利於這個國家的形象。這能夠將台灣變成學習和研究中文的國際中心。然而，疫情阻礙了語言學生來台學習。這違背了教育部計畫的基本理念。在COVID-19疫情期間，想學習中文的學生沒有其他地方可以去學，所以台灣仍然有機會將其打造成中文學習的基地。然而，台灣沒有抓住機會。線上學習是目前想學習中文的人的唯一選擇，但是並不能保證學習效果。我們要去台灣，跟台灣人相處，才能更深入地理解台灣文化傳統。只有像台灣在地人一樣生活，才能真正學好中文。
We thank you for taking the time to read this. We trust that the Ministry of Education will prioritize us Huayu Enrichment Scholarship students as promised, and immediately prepare to allow Chinese language students to enter Taiwan as soon as the Level 3 alert is lifted. This in turn should pave the way to also allow non-scholarship to study in Taiwan again.
感謝您百忙之中抽空閲讀這封信。我們相信教育部會按照承諾立即允許華語學生能夠在三級疫情警戒解除後，即刻入境。我們亦希望，讓獎學金華語生入境的決定，也同樣惠及非獎學金華語學生。
Sincerely,
Chinese language teachers of Taiwan
Mandarin students including
Huayu Enrichment Scholars of 2020-2021 and Huayu Enrichment Scholars of 2021-2022
Non-scholarship students
在台華語教師
2020-2021年度及2021-2022年華語文獎學金學生
無獎學金的華語學生
謹啟