President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration is attempting to “de-Taiwanize” high-school textbooks in a bid to manipulate students’ view of history, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) said yesterday.
According to Cheng, during a public hearing held by the Ministry of Education’s National Academy for Educational Research in Taipei on Friday, Fo Guang University professor Hsieh Ta-ning (謝大寧), who is also a member of the curriculum outlines adjustment task force headed by Shih Hsin University professor Wang Hsiao-po (王曉波), said that the adjustments mainly focused on changing incorrect words in the curriculum, making information presented by the curriculum more complete, and making sure that the content was in accordance with the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution.
Hsieh said that, for example, the word “China” in history and geography textbooks are in fact short for “mainland China,” as stipulated by the Act Governing the Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例)
Hsieh was adamant that the curriculum outlines had to contain the phrase: “All history after the ROC relocated to Taiwan need not be repeated, because it has already been written in the books on Taiwanese history.”
According to Hsieh, the phrase was important in that it represented that the ROC has relocated to Taiwan, “otherwise it would mean that the People’s Republic of China [PRC] has China and the ROC only has Taiwan after 1949,” Hsieh said.
He added that the inclusion of this phrase would put the textbook materials in accordance with the ROC Constitution.
Cheng lambasted the Ma government for trying to “de-Taiwanize” high-school textbooks to “brainwash” students.
She said that, for example, in a history textbook about Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功, also known as Koxinga), who defeated the Dutch forces at Fort Zeelandia (present-day Tainan) in 1661-1662, by changing “the Cheng family rule” to “the Cheng family rule under the Ming Dynasty” and focusing more on how the family dynasty was destroyed rather than founded, “the Ma administration is trying to stress that Taiwan under the Cheng family rule was being ruled by China.”
“The intent is to reinforce the concept that China has always been the ruler of Taiwan throughout the island’s history,” she added.
Cheng also said that in modern Taiwanese history, the word “retrocession” and phrase “relocation to Taiwan” were meant to further downplay Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that the result would be the resurfacing of a “greater China” or “great unification” historical view.
Separately, former DPP chairman Shih Ming-te (施明德) yesterday said Wang, the convener of the curriculum adjustment task force, should on his own initiative shun conflicts of interest, given that his mother was one of the founding martyrs of the PRC.
Wang’s mother was killed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in Taiwan for that very reason, and while his connection to and unique memories of a tragic past is to be respected, his suitability to head the task force was perhaps not the most objective or appropriate choice, Shih said.
Shih added that the presence on the task force of Hsieh, who doubles as secretary-general of the Chinese Integration Association, was also inappropriate, adding that the combination of Wang and Hsieh was perhaps too biased.
Commenting on Hsieh’s statements that the textbooks have to be in accordance with the Constitution and the Act Governing the Relations Between the Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, Shih said that history should be based on facts and historical views, not on laws.
“Laws can be amended, but history cannot; if the act were to be abolished by the Legislative Yuan, would our history also crumble?” Shih said.
She added that it was ridiculous for history academics to make such claims.
Shih added that the motive behind the curriculum outlines adjustments is an alternate form of “united front” (統戰) tactics.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
RSS