Minister of Education Huang Jong-tsun (黃榮村) yesterday urged teachers to not advocate their political preferences at school but to take the opportunity to teach students the spirit of the law and of democracy.
Lawmakers yesterday approached Huang for comment at the Legislative Yuan's Education Committee after receiving numerous complaints from parents about incidents of political brawls at schools.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Huang said that the ministry still places the same emphasis on political neutrality in schools and he hoped that teachers would control themselves and not talk politics in the classroom.
"I understand that teachers have more difficulties educating our children after the elections," Huang said.
"However, it is also a good opportunity to teach students a correct understanding of law and democracy.
"Teachers should control their feelings and political sentiments so that they can have a rational dialogue with students," he said.
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Lo Chih-ming (
Lo also said that about 200 kindergarten school buses in Taipei County were mobilized to support the pan-blue camp's March 13 rallies.
Huang said that it was inappropriate to drag the election into education, saying, "How is it possible that school education has changed into this?"
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Tuoh (
"Schools are now shrouded in an atmosphere of confrontations and hostility," he said.
"Different teachers have different explanations about the election, the protest and even the shooting of the president. Children are perplexed and do not know what is right and what is wrong."
Lo also said that about 70,000 teachers who served as election affairs workers had been defiled by the pan-blue camp's allegations of vote-rigging in the closely contested election and asked Huang to help defend teachers' integrity.
"About 90 percent of teachers who served as election affairs officers have dealt with vote-counting at least twice," Lo said.
"I don't think our teachers would assist the government in cheating. This accusation is a big insult to teachers," he said.
Union of Taiwanese Teachers Director-General Wang Shou-kuo (
Wang said the accusations about cheating in the election without any evidence have insulted the integrity of teachers and many public officials.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS