Why do Philippine immigration officers learn Chinese?

"Some officials of the Philippine Immigration Bureau will start learning Chinese to communicate with China tourists who arrive in the country." Philippine Business Daily reported 65438 on February 5th. According to the Philippine Immigration Bureau, from 1 to 1 1, the number of tourists from China reached 796,487. In order to welcome a large number of tourists from China, the Immigration Bureau began to take measures.

Glifton Medina, director of the Personnel Department of the Philippine Immigration Bureau, said that the director of the Immigration Bureau, Mo Rendi, and President Chen of Diliman Campus of the National University of the Philippines signed a memorandum of agreement in June 5438+10, and will start to provide Chinese courses for about 50 immigration officers in June 5438+10 next year. The course will last 1 month to 6 months.

He said: "In order for us to prepare for a large number of China tourists, our immigration officials must know at least Mandarin ... so that immigration officials can understand and communicate with China tourists."

Medina explained that this move is to make the entry procedures for tourists from China smoother. "Many people in China can't speak English, and some people don't understand English at all. (By learning Mandarin), we can deal with them in a language they can understand, at least basic questions, such as' How many days are you going to stay? ? "Where are you going to live?" "

In addition, Medina said, immigration officials who know Chinese can also distinguish between real tourists and illegal or unwelcome foreigners. "Provide a tool for immigration officials to distinguish between legal tourists and foreigners who are illegal or should be refused entry."

Medina said that our goal is to start training next year, "tailoring language courses to match the dialogue between immigration officials and tourists."