The Taipei Representative Office in France on Saturday celebrated the inauguration of France’s first Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning, which was opened in September this year.

Due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic as well as related restrictions, the inaugural celebration was delayed until Nov. 20, and held at the “Association Linguistique et Culturelle Chinoise” (ALCC) located in the commune of Noisy-le-Grand.

Situated in the eastern suburbs of Paris, the commune has been home to ALCC, the area’s Chinese language school since 1989.

As a part of its plan to support and collaborate with established Chinese language schools overseas, Taiwan’s Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) cooperated with ALCC to open the Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning, the first of its kind in France.

The center aims to promote bilateral exchanges by teaching Mandarin and traditional Chinese characters combined with the culture and values of Taiwan.

Wu Chih-chung (???), who heads Taiwan’s de facto embassy in France, and his deputy, Bernard Liu (???), both attended the event.

In his speech, Wu praised the aesthetics of traditional Chinese characters which are still used in Taiwan, touting that Taiwan represents the beauty of Chinese culture.

Also at the ceremony, Noisy-le-Grand Deputy Mayor Véronique Lachkar said that the commune is ecstatic over the opening of the center. She thanked the ALCC headmistress for her efforts at promoting traditional Chinese, as well as cultural exchanges between France and Taiwan.

The new Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning is one of 18 Chinese language centers opened this year by the OCAC, with 15 in the United States and one in Germany to date.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel