President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has put forward a four-stage theory of the development of the Republic of China (ROC): from the ROC in China to the ROC moving to Taiwan, the ROC in Taiwan and now, "The ROC is Taiwan." While what could be called the Taiwan theory inherent in this theory -- the ROC is Taiwan -- is praiseworthy, it also leads to worries over whether this is meant simply as a campaign ploy in for the year-end commissioner and mayoral elections.
In an attempt to get this policy implemented in the nation's education system, we ask the president to instruct Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) that he charge Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝) with putting in place a policy to announce that national history means Taiwanese history and national literature, Taiwanese literature. We solemnly suggest the following.
First, Tu should draft a long-term plan making Taiwan the focus of curriculum design, including a curriculum outline for the nine-year compulsory school and a temporary outline for a high school curriculum.
Second, the current training of elementary and junior high school teachers does not comply with the requirements for a consistent curriculum during the nine years of compulsory schooling. The Ministry of Education should suggest measures to remedy this situation.
Concrete adjustments should be made to the training of senior high school teachers in Taiwanese history and literature. This could include, for example, reducing the number of education student enrolled in Chinese departments, or requiring that training in Chinese departments' national literature curriculum must come into compliance with the draft outline.
Third, current topics in the high school entrance exam are based on the junior high school curriculum. This does not comply with the spirit of the outline for a consistent curriculum for the nine-year compulsory school. Local elementary school curriculums should also include a basic knowledge evaluation. The basic test should therefore allow for counties and cities to set their own topics in order to fully comply with the demands for basic knowledge.
We are not advocating the desinicization of education in Taiwan. But Chinese history should be seen as just one part of the overall development of Taiwanese history, but given its proper place insofar as it has influenced Taiwan. Despite Tu's current efforts to increase the Taiwan focus in the nation's education system, these efforts are far from sufficient. Still, they are enough already to be criticized by China-friendly political parties, politicians and media.
These people can't really come out and say that the Taiwanese people should not be allowed to study Taiwanese literature or history. So instead they keep complaining about desinicization or pursue other measures to interfere with and try to bring down Tu.
Most regrettable of all is that the Cabinet has repeatedly tried to use the pretext of controversial issues to remove Tu in order to please these pro-China forces.
During the five years of DPP rule, the Ministry of Education has been led by Ovid Tzeng (
This piece was a statement by the Northern Taiwan Society, Central Taiwan Society, Southern Taiwan Society, Eastern Taiwan Society, Japanese Cherry Society, Taiwan Professors Association, and the Union of Taiwanese Teachers.
Translated by Perry Svensson
Two sets of economic data released last week by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) have drawn mixed reactions from the public: One on the nation’s economic performance in the first quarter of the year and the other on Taiwan’s household wealth distribution in 2021. GDP growth for the first quarter was faster than expected, at 6.51 percent year-on-year, an acceleration from the previous quarter’s 4.93 percent and higher than the agency’s February estimate of 5.92 percent. It was also the highest growth since the second quarter of 2021, when the economy expanded 8.07 percent, DGBAS data showed. The growth
In the intricate ballet of geopolitics, names signify more than mere identification: They embody history, culture and sovereignty. The recent decision by China to refer to Arunachal Pradesh as “Tsang Nan” or South Tibet, and to rename Tibet as “Xizang,” is a strategic move that extends beyond cartography into the realm of diplomatic signaling. This op-ed explores the implications of these actions and India’s potential response. Names are potent symbols in international relations, encapsulating the essence of a nation’s stance on territorial disputes. China’s choice to rename regions within Indian territory is not merely a linguistic exercise, but a symbolic assertion
More than seven months into the armed conflict in Gaza, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures” to protect Palestinians in Gaza from the risk of genocide following a case brought by South Africa regarding Israel’s breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention. The international community, including Amnesty International, called for an immediate ceasefire by all parties to prevent further loss of civilian lives and to ensure access to life-saving aid. Several protests have been organized around the world, including at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and many other universities in the US.
Every day since Oct. 7 last year, the world has watched an unprecedented wave of violence rain down on Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories — more than 200 days of constant suffering and death in Gaza with just a seven-day pause. Many of us in the American expatriate community in Taiwan have been watching this tragedy unfold in horror. We know we are implicated with every US-made “dumb” bomb dropped on a civilian target and by the diplomatic cover our government gives to the Israeli government, which has only gotten more extreme with such impunity. Meantime, multicultural coalitions of US