The government of Gaoxiong (Kaohsiung) has recently secured funding from the Executive Yuan to

• waste on so-called translation agencies that wouldn’t know real English if it bit them on the ass,
• print up some signs on which the English is so small as to be almost unusable,
• put up even more signs in a romanization system few people know but many think is ridiculous at best,
• um, create an “English-friendly environment” in advance of the World Games, which will be held in the city in 2009.

The stories didn’t mention how much money will be involved in this. The project will be headed by the recently promoted Xǔ Lì-míng (許立明 / Xu Liming / Hsu Li-ming).

Let’s all hope the city does a much better job than is to be expected from past experience throughout Taiwan.

sources:

• Kaohsiung devotes efforts to build English-friendly environment, CNA, January 16, 2007
• Jiéhé Shìyùn: Gāoxióng Shì yíngzào Yīngyǔ tōng huánjìng (結合世運 高市營造英語通環境), CNA, January 16, 2007