TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A delegation representing the Houston Police Department (HPD) spent a week in Taiwan this month to study Mandarin as part of a cooperative project with the Ministry of Education (MOE), reports said Saturday (Oct. 21).

The program started in 2018, with an agreement to extend the program for a second three-year period signed in 2021, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported. One of the aims of the project is to improve the safety of Taiwanese students in the United States.

HPD Assistant Chief Ban Tien led the group of officers who spent a week in Taiwan to improve their Mandarin language ability. More than 60 officers have taken classes in Texas, but only three of the best students were chosen for the Taiwan trip with Tien and Commander Nhattien Nguyen.

In addition to intensive language and culture classes, the group also attended Double Ten National Day celebrations, and visited the MOE, the Ministry of Justice, Central Police University in Taoyuan City, and the Kaohsiung City Police Department.

The MOE described the trip by the HPD officers as a step forward in educational cooperation between U.S. officials and Taiwan. As a result of Houston’s success, the sheriff’s office in neighboring Harris County launched a similar program, the MOE said.