Pingtung County Government officials recently issued instructions to elementary school teachers, asking them to heed any negative influence on students who immerse themselves in reading Death Note, a Japanese manga series that has recently grown in popularity on campus.
The manga describes a high school student who decides to get rid of evil in the world after he accidentally picks up the God of Death's notebook. The supernatural power surrounding the notebook kills anyone whose name is written in it, according to the manga's storyline.
As the Death Note centers on the topic of death, a film -- based on the cartoon book -- was prohibited in some countries, and its TV program is only allowed to be broadcast late at night.
In Taiwan, the film has been classified "parental," the second-lowest rating, requiring individuals under 12 to be accompanied by parents or other adult guardians and restricting children under six altogether.
The owner running manga bookstore said that Death Note is popular with students from fifth graders to senior high schools students.
A fifth-grader said that he and his classmates all read the manga without their teacher knowing, do not find the storyline frightening and enjoy reading it very much.
Officials from the Pingtung County Government's educational bureau have called on school teachers to keep an eye on their students for any negative influences the manga might have on them.
The officials also urged the teachers to strengthen talks on appreciation of life.
Hsu Wen-bin (許文彬), executive-general of the Publication Appraisal Foundation, however, was not of the opinion that Death Note is bad for students.
Since it is unreasonable to classify books or to ask parents to read the manga with their children, Hsu said the best solution is for parents to provide answers that children might have while reading the mangas.
Tongli Publishing, the publisher of the manga's Chinese version in Taiwan, said the manga actually has educational meaning as the main character receives his share of punishment in the end of the story.
Saying Death Note is a good teaching material on the values of good and bad, life and death, comics commentator Jojo suggested teachers try to understand why students like the manga rather than over-reacting and implementing a ban.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS