Chile is backing off a controversial plan to remove the word “dictatorship” from school textbooks in reference to the military government of General Augusto Pinochet.
President Sebastian Pinera’s new Education Minister Harald Beyer sparked a political uproar when he discussed the plan recently. He suggested grade-school students be taught a more “general” term by calling the 1973-1990 rule of Pinochet a “military regime.”
Senator Isabel Allende, whose father Salvador Allende was ousted in Pinochet’s coup, called the change “unacceptable.” “It goes against common sense, because the entire world knows that during 17 years what Chile had was a ferocious dictatorship with the most serious human rights violations, where there was no parliament, where there was no liberty, where there was persecution, murders and disappearances,” Isabel Allende said.
Photo: AFP
照片:法新社
Chile’s Socialist Party leader, Osvaldo Andrade, put it more colorfully: “It has the ears of a cat, the body of a cat, meows like a cat and some people want to call it a dog.”
Beyer later decided to back off.
The ministry “never meant to deny the undemocratic nature of the military regime, nor the human rights violations that resulted,” Beyer said, explaining that the guidelines are generally meant to foster a healthy debate. “They open a broader and richer discussion, and that’s the objective: to develop critical thinking.”
(AP)
智利政府決定撤回一項自學校教科書中移除「獨裁政府」字眼的爭議性計畫,這個字是用來指由皮諾契特將軍所主掌的軍事政府。
皮奈拉總統的新教育部長拜爾,最近因為討論這項計畫而在政壇引發騷動。他建議學校在教導中小學學生時,應使用「軍事政權」這種更「一般性」的字眼來形容皮諾契特在一九七三年至一九九○年間的統治。
父親阿葉德遭皮諾契特發動政變推翻政權的參議員伊莎貝‧阿葉德稱這項改變「令人無法接受」。「這悖離了常識,因為舉世皆知智利在這十七年的無情獨裁統治期間,發生了最嚴重的違反人權案件,也沒有國會與自由,只有迫害、謀殺與失蹤,」阿葉德說。
智利社會黨領袖安德拉德則以更生動方式形容此事:「它有著貓的耳朵,貓的身體,也像貓一樣喵喵叫,但有些人卻想把它稱作狗。」
拜爾後來決定讓步。
教育部「從未企圖否定軍事政權的不民主本質,或其所造成的違反人權罪行,」拜爾說,他解釋這些綱要只是想促進辯論。「它們開啟更廣泛、更豐富的討論,而這正是目的所在:開發批評性思考。」
(美聯社/翻譯:俞智敏)
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang As with many aspects of Japanese culture, there is etiquette to follow when you enjoy noodles. To fully experience noodles like a local on your next visit to Japan, consider these simple guidelines. First, be careful where you put your chopsticks. Don’t leave them sticking up in the broth or set them at the side of the bowl. When you have finished eating or if you’re taking a break, place them on the chopstick rest next to the bowl. Also, it is impolite to wave chopsticks around or bring them above mouth-level. Second, don’t take too