President Chen Shui-bian (
"As the 11th president of the Republic of China [ROC], I support Chinese culture and respect the revolution of history," he said. "And I cannot and will not interfere with the editing and compilation of history by professionals."
Chen said that he recognizes and approves of Chinese culture, but emphasized that Chinese culture does not equal to Sinicization. He said this is a point that many people can understand.
Chen made the remarks while attending the Chinese Cultural Revival sports carnival.
He pointed out that as president and one of the 23 million people in the country, he -- as well as other administration officials -- has the utmost respect for historical evolution and no value differentiation.
Chen rejected accusations by opposition parties that the Ministry of Education's attempts to change the syllabus of high-school history textbooks is politically motivated and aimed at moving toward Tai-wan's independence.
He said those who think that rewriting the curriculum is an act of disrespect toward the nation's ancestors or who want the minister of education to resign are regrettable.
Chen said he hoped that those politicians who are trying to benefit from creating controversy should not make an issue of the guidelines for the high-school history curriculum.
Meanwhile, Examination Yuan member Lin Yu-ti (
"Sun was one of the four biggest rebel bandits wanted by the Manchu Dynasty," Lin said during a TV interview. "If he could be venerated as a founding father, why not the other three bandits?"
Lin said he did not regret raising the issue during the legislative election campaign.
"They [pan-blue parties' supporters and candidates] threw eggs at my portrait. What a waste," he said.
"I will not withdraw just because of those political clowns' behavior," he said.
Asked by reporters whether he will campaign for pan-green candidates to further push his ideas about Taiwan's history, Lin said that he is fighting for a review of history, which had been spoiled by five decades of KMT rule, not to serve any particular political party.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
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,”
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