The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said legal action by the Ministry of Education against students is a “big joke,” after a group broke into the ministry building late on Thursday night in a protest over proposed adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines.
“The ministry broke the law with the proposed curriculum guidelines, and now it is bringing legal action against students,” DPP spokesperson Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said. “If Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華) does not withdraw the action against the students, he will destroy his image and blight his conscience, becoming a dirty politician with a bad name that will follow him for the rest of his life.”
Thirty-three people, including three journalists, were detained by police after they entered the building. The protesters were released late on Friday after posting bail ranging from NT$10,000 to NT$30,000. The journalists were placed under house arrest after each refused to pay NT$10,000 bail.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday reiterated DPP demands that the ministry halt its plan to implement the curriculum guidelines by next month, adding that the ministry should withdraw its legal action against the protesters and the journalists.
“The ministry has set a poor example by threatening legal action against students and journalists,” she added.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus expressed its support for the ministry’s actions.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
“The protesting students stormed into the minister’s office and occupied it,” the caucus said. “The law cannot be distorted by politics, so we firmly stand with the ministry’s decision to bring charges against any who breach the law.”
KMT Legislator Lin Te-fu (林德福) displayed a photograph that has been circulating online, showing a receipt for NT$1,495 worth of umbrellas, suggesting that the DPP had made the purchase.
Lin said the DPP likely masterminded the break-in, accusing the party of instigating students and at the same time releasing a joint statement urging the ministry to withdraw its legal challenge.
Photo: CNA
Lin said Tsai, as a legal scholar and presidential candidate, “has unscrupulously used the situation for her own political interests and flagrantly showed contempt for the nation’s laws.”
KMT Legislator Lee Guei-min (李貴敏) said that a party with opinions about the curriculum guidelines should propose its ideas in the legislature, not push young people who have little understanding of the law to the front lines, presenting them with the opportunity to destroy the rule of law and democracy.
Lee, who has a background in law, said the protesters’ actions constituted an “intrusion” according to the Criminal Code, so “if the ministry fails to take legal action, it would be tantamount to saying that similar actions are legally permitted.”
However, Lee said freedom of the press should be protected and questions over whether the journalists arrested had breached any laws needed further investigation.
KMT presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) called on “the party behind the protests” to “get its hands off” young people.
“The political party behind” the protesters’ actions should not “hide behind protesting young people,” which is unthinkable in a democratic nation, Hung said.
Tsai said Hung should exercise caution when speaking and refrain from twisting the facts.
“The real cause of the problem is the mishandling — by the government, and especially the ministry — of the curriculum adjustment plan, which triggered hostility and disputes,” Tsai said.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was
RSS