August 21, 2021

The Honorable Huang Xilian
Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Philippines
China Embassy Manila

Dear Honorable Ambassador Huang Xilian,

As Filipino online English teachers, we are grateful to the Chinese government and Chinese families for providing us jobs for the last 10 years, especially during this pandemic.

We are grateful for platforms like 51Talk, which helped us better understand Chinese culture and form deep friendships with Chinese children and their parents. We owe our health and safety to the Chinese government who donated vaccines & medical supply which protected most Filipinos.

We understand that the Chinese government has implemented the "Double Reduction" policy to promote educational equity and improve educational standards. This is in line with the goal of all the Filipino teachers who have dedicated their lives to teach online.

However, the "Double Reduction" policy mentions that foreign nationals abroad are prohibited from engaging in education which makes us worried and anxious for our future. How can we make ends meet if we lose our jobs? We live in areas where jobs are not readily available and teaching online has helped us send our kids to school, feed our families, and keep a roof over our heads.

We have been teaching for many years and this job has given us a means and reason to live. For most of us, this is our only source of income in these hard times because of the pandemic. It’s not safe to go out and we have no hope of securing new employment. Our students are concerned that they can’t have lessons with us anymore. This saddens us the most.

We hope for your kind understanding and hope you hear the plea of the thousands of Filipino online English teachers. Please do not take away the opportunity for us to continue teaching Chinese kids.

Sincerely,

Filipino online English teachers