A petition launched by National Tsing Hua University professors on Wednesday condemning the school for apologizing for a student’s criticism of Minister of Education Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧) has gathered support from more than 80 professors as of yesterday.
Tsing Hua student Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷), a co-convener of the Youth Alliance Against Media Monsters, was invited by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers to attend a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee on Monday to discuss an e-mail circulated by the ministry on Nov. 29, asking universities to “show concern” to students who took part in protests calling on the government to review a consortium’s application to purchase Next Media Group’s (壹傳媒集團)four media outlets in Taiwan.
During the meeting, Chen called the minister a hypocrite and a liar who does not know remorse.
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
The university issued a press release on Tuesday, apologizing to the minister and the public over Chen’s remarks, triggering protests from many students and netizens.
Initiated by Shen Hsiu-hua (沈秀華), a sociology professor, the petition states that the academics could not accept the school’s apology and do not understand why it had to apologize.
The statement said the school should have protested against the ministry’s e-mail to show its support for the student, rather than condemning the student.
Peng Ming-hui (彭明輝), a retired Tsing Hua professor, urged the public to listen to Chen’s statement at the meeting in full.
“It’s truly worrisome that the public only pays attention to trivial things and does not care about the bigger issues,” Peng said.
Peng said Chiang has never responded to the students’ appeals at various protests. Instead, riot police were called to the protest sites and an e-mail directed schools to “show concern” for students who took part in protests.
A petition campaign titled “Instead of Reprimanding Students, Let’s Protect Democracy” (修理學生,不如守護民主) was also launched yesterday by a number of civic groups, including Taiwan Democracy Watch and Taiwan Association for Human Rights
The petition demands that the ministry and all schools end all forms of paternalistic monitoring of students, urges the legislature to amend laws to remove all military officers from the ministry and all school levels, and calls on universities to stop kowtowing to powerful political decisionmakers and use feudal rhetoric such as “students should have manners” to discourage students from engaging in public affairs.
Tsing Hua chief secretary Chien Chen-fu (簡禎富) yesterday acknowledged that the school misjudged the situation in issuing the apology. Chien quoted university president Chen Li-chun (陳力俊) as saying that he would speak to the professors and the students before making public comments on the issue.
Additional reporting by Rachel Lin
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)