OT-2303
February 22, 2023
Remarks by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Camille Dawson at
Briefing on the U.S.-Taiwan Education Initiative
Hello! I am Camille Dawson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of East Asian & Pacific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. It has been my pleasure to participate in today’s Third High-Level U.S.-Taiwan Education Dialogue.
I am thrilled to be here in Taipei with a U.S. delegation to demonstrate our tangible commitment to the success of this important joint initiative between the United States and Taiwan.
We believe that the U.S.-Taiwan Education Initiative has already been a great success. Our primary goal was to find areas of cooperation, particularly in access to Mandarin and English language instruction while safeguarding academic freedom. We chose Taiwan because you have a free and vibrant education environment, free of coercion or censorship, as we enjoy in the United States.
This morning, we reflected on what the initiative has already achieved – increased opportunities for both U.S. students to study in Taiwan and Taiwan teachers and students to go to the United States. We also brainstormed and explored new areas for growth and the road ahead. Our Taiwan friends have proposed several innovative ideas.
In fact, one of the areas we discussed is cooperation with U.S. states and developing K-12 classroom relationships. I’m happy to announce that the Department of State has drafted a letter to the Council of Chief State School Officers, endorsing cooperation with Taiwan for Mandarin teaching at the K-12 level.
In conclusion, I think that we all agree – expanding access to Mandarin language training for Americans and English training in Taiwan, as well as increasing student and teacher exchanges will strengthen U.S.-Taiwan people-to-people ties and bring us closer together.