China began on Thursday to recruit volunteers to teach Chinese mandarin (Putonghua) overseas in an attempt to meet the demand to learn the language.

Zhang Xinsheng, vice minister of education and deputy chief of the state Chinese teaching leading group, said the volunteers are required to be Chinese citizens under the age of 65, with junior college degree or above in one of the following majors: Chinese, history, philosophy, foreign languages, physics, psychology, law or sociology. And they must speak standard Chinese mandarin.

Retired Chinese language teachers in universities, middle schools and primary schools, as well as those who understand foreign languages are preferred.

There are more than 25 million Chinese mandarin learners in over 100 countries. Although the Chinese government has dispatched language teachers to five major continents, many Chinese language teachers are still needed overseas.

The governments of Japan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, South Africa and France all asked the Chinese Government to dispatch more Chinese language teachers.

Volunteers can visit www.hanban.edu.cn for registration. Those who pass the examination will receive short-term training and sign an agreement with the government under the relevant laws before teaching overseas. They will be subsidized US$400 every month and enjoy medical insurance and accident insurance when they work overseas. Their contracts will be from six months to two years.

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2004)