The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new security measures following a third intrusion late on Friday night by students protesting adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines.
Rows of 3m-tall iron barricades were put up around the ministry and the nearby K-12 Education Administration building late on Friday night, replacing barbed wire within the ministry’s short perimeter fence.
The K-12 Education Administration entrance was completely sealed off behind layers of defenses, while piles of barricade panels were stacked at intervals inside the ministry’s courtyard, ready to be placed on short notice.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The ministry said police erected the barriers to make the building easier to seal off following several incursions by students and a number of large protests planned at the entrance throughout next week.
It added that it reserved the right to file charges against intruders.
Controversy over what critics call “China-centric” adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines has drawn fire from student groups, with one small group forcing its way into the K-12 Education Administration’s office last week.
The announcement followed an incursion at the ministry’s entrance late on Friday night by students from the Secondary Education Protection Front. Six students carrying spray paint and metal stencils climbed over the barriers and rushed to the front of the building to spray slogans.
Following a brief encounter with police, the students were subdued, pressing stencils, which called for the withdrawal of “brainwashing” curriculum guidelines, against the police car windows as they were driven off.
About six group members stayed outside the ministry’s gates holding up plaques opposing the “black box” curriculum guidelines and calling for the resignation of Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華).
Group spokesman Tsai Hsi-chih (蔡習之), who is to start classes at Taipei Municipal Cheng Yuan High School in the fall, said that new high-school students will be impacted the most by curriculum guideline adjustments.
She added that, while many students had been looking forward to classes this fall, they are now depressed by the prospect of being “brainwashed” with material that is historically inaccurate.
Meanwhile, National Taichung First Senior High School student group Apple Tree Commune yesterday held the first of a series of forums outside the ministry’s gates opposing the curriculum adjustments, with the Northern Taiwan Anti-Curriculum Changes Alliance announcing that they would “surround” the ministry on Wednesday if their demands are not met.
The ministry announced four forums on the guideline changes to be held simultaneously on Thursday at the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University, National Hsinchu Senior High School, National Changhua Senior High School and Tainan First High School.
The forums were scheduled to take place last month, but were canceled after the first forum ended with students confronting Wu.
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
RSS