Demand for Chinese teachers is rapidly soaring in Thailand, with the ties between Thailand and China strengthened in various fields, said Thai Princess Sirindhorn in Beijing Thursday at the on-going World Chinese Conference.

Speaking highly of Thailand-China relations over the past 30 years since they established diplomatic ties, Sirindhorn said to learn Chinese is very important, since China is a big country with fast economic growth. "Everyday I could read news about China in the world's mainstream newspapers."

The Chinese language was very popular among common Thai citizens, Sirindhorn said. People often use Chinese in their daily life, and more people are learning Chinese with the help of TV program, Internet and magazines. The Chinese government sent professional teachers to Thailand and launched Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) in Thailand, which also boosted the Chinese learning among the public.

Sirindhorn pointed out that the newspapers, books and magazines in Thailand at present are printed in traditional Chinese characters, and the college entrance examination to the Chinese language department in Thai universities also employ traditional Chinese characters. However, the Chinese teachers dispatched by the Chinese government all use simplified Chinese characters, thus causing problems in Chinese teaching.

After attending the discussion at the conference, Sirindhorn met with Chinese Minister of Education Zhou Ji and was awarded the title of honorary professor by China's Wuhan University, for her great contribution to promoting Thai-Chinese educational exchanges.

The two-day conference, with the theme of "the Development of Chinese in a Multi-cultural World", attracted nearly 600 government officials, Sinologists and Chinese learners from 67 countries and regions, among which more than 350 came from overseas.

(Xinhua News Agency July 22, 2005)