Hsinchu Kuang Fu High School principal Cheng Hsiao-ming (程曉銘) yesterday resigned over the outrage caused by a cosplay event at the school on Friday, when some students wore Nazi uniforms and carried swastika banners.
In his letter of resignation, Cheng apologized to the public as well as to the victims of the Nazi regime for the disturbance and the anxiety caused by the parade.
Cheng said the school will today present a list of personnel accountable for the incident, including the administrators and homeroom instructor Liu Hsi-cheng (劉習正).
Photo: CNA
The list would not include students, the school said.
Cheng said that he should resign and be held responsible for the incident, adding that he will accept any punishment handed down by the Ministry of Education.
The school would be temporarily managed by Huang Duen-huang (黃敦煌), the school’s academic affairs director.
Prior to the incident, the school had already decided that Cheng would be succeeded by Huang in February, the school said, adding that the board asked Cheng to step down early to limit the damage caused by the incident.
Cheng said that the school would take steps to address the error, adding that it would reinforce the education of the issues manifested through the cosplay event, including the pains inflicted upon the victims of Nazi Germany and the symbols representing the regime.
Although students should be encouraged to be creative, it is equally important they be taught to respect all parties that might be affected by their work and sympathize with them, he said.
The school will hold a series of educational activities, including showing films such as Schindler’s List and Life is Beautiful, Cheng said, adding that officials from the Israel Economic and Culture Office would be invited to speak with the students.
In addition to thanking the office for providing educational resources, Cheng said he would continue teaching after his resignation is approved by the school board and dedicate himself to the education of important historical events.
He called on the public not to be too harsh on the school’s teachers and students, as they have been under tremendous pressure because of the incident and have learned a valuable lesson from it.
Liu said he had suggested the students make Arabic culture a theme for the parade on historical figures, but they decided to go with Adolf Hitler after two rounds of voting.
He said he had told the students that the theme would be very controversial, but added that he chose to respect the students’ decision and did not veto it, which he said was his biggest mistake.
Some students said they thought their creativity would make them the focus of the parade, adding that Hitler being responsible for the death of millions of innocent people had not crossed their minds.
Others said they chose Hitler because they could easily convert their school uniforms into Nazi uniforms by making minor changes, which meets the criteria for a cosplay event.
Asked if the school has a say in the themes chosen by the students, the school administration said that students would only be told that the themes should not involve blood or violence, adding that students would often reveal limited details to teachers as they considered the “result of their creativity” top secret.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS