On March 19, Formosa Plastics Corporation, Texas hosted the Director General Yvonne Hsiao from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Houston, Texas, as well as her staff and other local elected officials. This was to celebrate the expansion of the Taiwan Centers for Mandarin Learning (TCML) program.

Formosa Plastics Group Vice Chairwoman Susan Wang and Formosa Plastics Corporation, Texas New Business Development Vice President Jack Wu helped start the learning program 35 years ago. Wang had a vision of sharing Taiwan culture and language with the communities in which the company operates and the local community has been supportive. Culture and language classes began at Travis Middle School for children and then moved to the Comfort Community Church in Port Lavaca, Texas. Now TCML is encouraging adults to participate. Classes are open to the public on Sundays at the church and Formosa is participating and testing a pilot program at its Point Comfort, Texas site.

Mandarin is a widely used and influential language around the world. The demand and need for language instruction in Europe and the United States is increasing. The U.S. State Department announced the National Security Language Initiative for Youth emphasizing an increase in Mandarin learning opportunities. The U.S. and Taiwan Education Initiative was signed in December 2020. The Overseas Community Affairs Council, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education have established a negotiation and cooperation model with the American Institute in Taiwan to start bilateral language cooperation. Mandarin is Taiwan’s native tongue and Formosa supports Taiwan’s traditions and culture. Currently, there are 66 Taiwan Centers for Learning in the United States and 84 globally. TECO has a goal of establishing 100 Centers by 2025.