On February 1st, the Tzu Chi Foundation’s Northern California Chapter held a plaque unveiling ceremony and year-end blessing event for the Taiwan Chinese Language Learning Center (TCML) at the San Jose Center, attracting hundreds of Tzu Chi volunteers, believers, and members of the mainstream community to join in the festivities.
Among the distinguished guests in attendance were Deputy Director Zhu Yongchang of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco, and Director Zhuang Yashu of the San Francisco Bay Area Overseas Chinese Cultural and Educational Service Center. With the formal inclusion of the Tzu Chi Northern California Chapter into TCML, the number of Taiwan Chinese language learning centers in Northern California has now increased to 7.
Huang Qizhen, Executive Director of the Tzu Chi Foundation’s Northern California Chapter, mentioned that this year marks the 60th anniversary of Tzu Chi’s founding. He reflected on Master Cheng Yen’s devotion to gathering people’s strengths through small yet continuous acts of kindness since the “bamboo savings era,” allowing the power of goodness to resonate and spread throughout the world.
He emphasized that Tzu Chi has a profound foundation in humanities education and will collaborate with the Overseas Chinese Cultural and Educational Service Center to promote Chinese language and cultural education. Language will serve as an important bridge to connect communities, and the public is invited to participate in activities at the center regularly.
Zhu Yongchang stated that Tzu Chi is not only active in Taiwan but also worldwide in disaster relief, poverty alleviation, and medical care, serving as an important long-term partner for overseas missions. He warmly welcomed Tzu Chi’s inclusion in TCML to provide a high-quality and convenient Chinese language learning environment for the community and mainstream society, further expanding the influence of Taiwanese culture.
Zhuang Yashu mentioned that Tzu Chi has long been committed to humanities education and has made significant contributions to promoting Chinese language in the community. She looks forward to using the TCML platform to deepen mainstream community’s understanding of Taiwanese culture while combining Tzu Chi’s community engagement, excellent faculty, and diverse teaching methods to facilitate cultural exchange between Taiwan and the United States.
The Tzu Chi Foundation’s Northern California Chapter TCML started enrollment in January 2026, offering two classes for adults aged 18 and above. Each term lasts for 12 weeks, welcoming people from all walks of life to actively apply and experience the beauty of Taiwanese Chinese language and culture.
In addition to Chinese language courses, the center integrates diverse cultural and mind-body education content, including tea ceremony, flower arrangement, vegetarian cooking, as well as yoga, Tai Chi, Tai Chi sword, calligraphy, painting, guzheng, and guqin lessons in art and music.
These related cultural elements are incorporated into Chinese language teaching to allow students to naturally appreciate cultural richness while learning the language.