Bilingual Education Clash Intensifies! Lai Jui-lung Proposes $1 Billion Plan for 'Bilingual Capital by 2030,' Ke Chih-en Slams 'Spending Spree for KPIs'

The battle over education policy in the Kaohsiung mayoral election has escalated. On the 7th, DPP candidate Lai Jui-lung announced seven policy proposals under his 'Bilingual Capital by 2030' vision, pledging to gradually increase the city’s bilingual education budget from the current NT$479 million to NT$1 billion annually, aiming to transform Kaohsiung into an internationalized city. In response, the campaign office of KMT candidate Ke Chih-en immediately fired back, denouncing the plan as a 'bilingual KPI monster,' questioning whether massive spending would improve academic performance and warning it could turn teachers and students into policy guinea pigs.

Lai’s team swiftly countered with five rebuttals, accusing Ke of misunderstanding Kaohsiung’s current situation and merely trying to discredit the city. A fierce exchange erupted between the two camps over bilingual education.

Lai argues that the next phase of bilingual education must be fully upgraded, proposing seven initiatives: doubling the budget, launching an AI-powered smart learning platform, establishing one international co-learning partner per school, promoting youth overseas exchanges, enhancing teacher international training, deploying foreign teachers to remote areas, and expanding multilingual education. He emphasized that increased funding is not for publicity but an investment in children, support for teachers, and narrowing the urban-rural gap—stepping toward becoming a 'Bilingual Capital by 2030.'

However, Ke’s campaign criticized the proposal, pointing out that the central government’s existing bilingual policy has already sparked resistance among grassroots educators. They argued that Lai’s plan to double the budget amounts to pushing Kaohsiung’s children into an untested educational experiment. The campaign raised three urgent questions: Where exactly will the NT$1 billion be spent? Is it merely inflating administrative KPIs? Will teachers face heavier administrative burdens? How will the chronic shortage of teachers in remote areas be addressed?

They insisted that what Kaohsiung truly needs is solid academic achievement, not flashy slogans. The Ke camp also proposed three alternative education policies: increasing the overall education expenditure ratio to 38%, implementing immersive daily-life English programs, and establishing an International Exchange Education Fund. They stressed that resources should be allocated across the entire education system rather than being concentrated solely on bilingual initiatives.

In response, Lai’s campaign accused Ke of opposing for opposition’s sake, claiming she failed to understand the policy and was unaware of Mayor Chen Chi-mai’s current direction on bilingual education. They pointed out that Kaohsiung has already been advancing bilingual education in a flexible, life-integrated manner. Lai’s proposals—such as reducing teaching loads, sharing teaching materials, establishing joint preparation mechanisms, and enhancing teacher international training—are designed to alleviate frontline burdens, not add pressure.

Moreover, the DPP highlighted a contradiction: while Ke criticizes increased educational resources as 'reckless spending,' she simultaneously advocates for an International Exchange Education Fund, immersive English programs, and overseas exchanges for disadvantaged students—positions highly aligned with Lai’s own proposals. They accused her of 'criticizing while copying,' calling it self-defeating. They further criticized Ke for opposing the deployment of foreign teachers to remote areas, teacher support, and student exchange programs, arguing such opposition blocks Kaohsiung’s children from connecting with the world.

As the debate over bilingual education rapidly escalates from policy discussion to electoral warfare, both parties have expanded their clash from educational philosophy to budget allocation, teacher workload, and educational equity. Consequently, the question of 'whether and how to spend the NT$1 billion bilingual budget' has officially become the latest battleground in the Kaohsiung mayoral race.