The Ministry of Education (MOE) on Friday added an iron gate to the entrance of its building and put barbed wire on its outer fences ahead of demonstrations planned for today by high-school students protesting against the ministry’s adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines.
Several student groups held a news conference yesterday announcing that protests in Taipei and Taichung are planned for today.
In both cities, black umbrellas are to be held up to symbolize the amendment of the curricula having been “shrouded in darkness.”
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Protesters also plan to throw paper planes into the ministry in Taipei and the K-12 Education Administration office in Taichung, carrying students’ messages to Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華) urging the government to postpone the roll-out and demanding a fair education system, the student groups said.
The students said they would act in a “peaceful and rational manner, with black umbrellas and paper planes, in response to the ministry’s iron gate and blockades.”
Deputy Minister of Education Chen Der-hwa (陳德華) confirmed that the iron gate was installed in preparation for the coming protest and said that because students had stormed into the building before, the ministry’s secretariat decided to install the gate out of safety concerns.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The Deep-Root Alliance of History Teachers yesterday said that the ministry’s attempt to insulate itself from the students “was just like the Berlin Wall, which was constructed overnight to stop people from leaving.”
“What kind of government would protect itself from high-school students and isolate itself from people’s voices with barbed wire and iron gates? Are MOE officials really civil servants in a free and democratic country? Are we really citizens of a free country?” it asked.
The alliance said people should “stand up and proudly declare ‘I am Taiwanese, and a citizen of a free country,’” and show solidarity with students who epitomize “the awakening of civil consciousness and democratic enlightenment.”
National Taichung First Senior High School Apple Tree Commune Club spokesperson Chen Chien-hsun (陳建勳) said the ministry, despite setting up the barricades, would eventually have to face the students and their demands.
“The students want only to negotiate with the ministry officials and do not want to stage protests,” he said, adding that the actions of the government were making clashes more likely.
Chen said that the ministry canceled three planned question-and-answer sessions on campuses and was unwilling to talk with students publicly.
Taipei Municipal Jianguo Senior High School student Yen Hsiao-ho (閻孝和) said today’s demonstration would be peaceful and the students would form a team to monitor protesters to ensure that no clashes with the authorities occur.
“We understand that parents are concerned, but the students are standing up for their own rights and their futures,” Yen said, adding “if the right to justice is removed, it must be fought for.”
Students would be friendly toward those with opposing opinions, Yen said, adding that students planned only to stage a sit-in and throw paper airplanes into the ministry.
Additional reporting by Rachel Lin
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