Controversy over proposed changes to high-school history, geography and civics textbook guidelines has been going on for quite some time.
History is comprised of two aspects: historical sources and historical viewpoints. Historical sources are scientific in nature and there is greater consensus about them. However, historical viewpoints are subjective in nature and they vary, sometimes diametrically, according to people’s perceptions.
Historical sources cannot speak — it is historical viewpoints that give them a voice. People have different ideologies and standpoints that decide their interpretations of sources and this is the main reason for the controversy over the guidelines.
Over the past few days, candidates for next year’s presidential election have been talking about their policies regarding the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, which they might or might not consider to be two nations, and about whether the Republic of China (ROC) actually exists.
From Beijing’s point of view, the ROC was replaced by a successor state in 1949, when the Chinese Communist Party established the People’s Republic of China. By that logic, if anyone recognizes the ROC “government” in Taiwan, it is tantamount to recognizing the ROC, which would mean there were two Chinas, and of course Beijing finds that unacceptable. Those who advocate independence for Taiwan think that only if the ROC no longer exists can the demand for independence be rationalized, otherwise it would just be a matter of rectifying names and titles.
However, for most Taiwanese, the ROC government is something that plainly and concretely exists in their daily lives. The ROC appears on coins and bills, tax returns, in the titles of national and local government departments, in official documents and letters, the job titles of civil servants and many other places that confirm its existence.
These differing conceptions show that so-called historical truth is a matter of choice. Where, then, is Taiwan’s objective history to be found?
The purpose of textbooks is to educate people, so ordinary Taiwanese are the ones who stand to be affected by any curriculum guideline adjustments. What kind of historical viewpoints should be taught to Taiwanese?
The intention, of course, is to objectively approach and describe the various regimes that have governed the nation, and to do so through memories and identities that revolve around the theme of Taiwanese. If the guidelines are going to be altered in a way that makes them devoid of any national identity, then in the future, there will be Taiwanese who have been taught to have no identity, or indeed to identify with China, Japan or the US. If the nation enters a war or other dispute with those nations, which side would Taiwanese be expected to take and who would be willing to stand up and defend the nation?
The purpose of history has always been to seek the truth and that is a task that is never complete. Nonetheless, in the present period, the curriculum guidelines are open to discussion and compromise. It is important to involve a broad range of standpoints and opinions about what should and should not be included in school textbooks, and about how much emphasis should be given to various elements and issues. So writers holding a range of opinions should co-author Taiwanese history syllabuses and textbooks that revolve around the theme of Taiwanese. This should be done to clearly tell the next generation: “You are Taiwanese.”
Yeh Chih-chieh is secretary-general of the Taiwan History Research Council.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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