Anti-curriculum changes student activist Chen Po-yu (陳柏瑜) yesterday said he and other activists have received court summons from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office to answer criminal charges on Thursday next week for acts of protest, even though the Ministry of Education had pledged to drop the charges.
Chen, a vocational high-school student from Yilan County, participated in the break-in and occupation of the Ministry of Education’s complex on July 23 to protest against the ministry’s new textbook curriculum guidelines, which they say are China-centric and lack objectivity.
Thirty-three people, including activists and three reporters, were arrested and charged with criminal trespassing on a private residence, obstruction and vandalism.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
The ministry later promised to drop the charges as part of its negotiations with anti-curriculum changes activists, a promise that Chen yesterday said the summons has cast into doubt.
“Were the charges not dropped? Why are they not doing what they promised?” he asked, adding that he was “disappointed” by the ministry’s “flip-flopping.”
Chen said the charges were nonsensical, adding that the ministry’s complex is not a “private residence,” that the protesters did not obstruct the police or offer resistance in any way and no property was damaged during their occupation.
The anti-curriculum activists’ lawyer, Wellington Koo (顧立雄), said he and his team would comment on the specifics of the charges after the prosecutors had clarified them in court, because the tersely worded court document only cited “criminal obstruction and other charges.”
Koo added that he had worried about the possibility of government deception when the ministry announced it would drop charges, and that those worries now appear justified.
Humanist Education Foundation executive director and member of the Anti-Curriculum Changes Alliance Joanna Feng (馮喬蘭) called on the ministry to make good on its claim that it was acting in the students’ best interests when it pledged to drop the charges, adding that it is too late for the ministry to “pretend it is a bystander.”
In response, Deputy Minister of Education Lin Teng-chiao (林騰蛟) said that the ministry has dropped all civil charges against the activists, but the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office is responsible for prosecuting criminal charges, such as obstruction.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office declined comment.
Additional reporting by Rachel Lin
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
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
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
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
RSS