Above: Branch President Angela Burroughs, Legislators Dr Yun Fan and Ms Ngalim Tiunn, Branch Secretary Patrick Judge, and Deputy Representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia, Regine Chen.
Branch leaders were honoured to meet with a delegation from Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s Parliament. The visiting delegation was keen to learn about the AEU and current challenges facing teachers in Australia. Dr Yun Fan and Ms Ngalim Tiunn, members of the Democratic Progressive Party, are both members of the Education and Culture Committee of Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan, a committee chaired by Dr Fan.
Discussions focused on areas very familiar to AEU members: teacher workload, ever increasing compliance responsibilities, challenges implementing inclusive education reform, and pressures on teachers from parents. They were also interested in the mobile phone and social media ban and opportunities to provide children with greater access to playgrounds.
In a country with a highly valued work ethic and where a school day may extend from 8am until 8pm, Ms Tiunn has successfully lobbied for the development of more than 400 parks and playgrounds for children by children.
Dr Fan has played a significant role in Taiwan’s democratic development. She successfully advocated for reforms that have dramatically improved women’s representation in parliament.