Students and teachers staged a demonstration yesterday outside the Ministry of Education accusing it of pressuring a textbook publisher to remove pictures of demonstrations held to preserve the Losheng Sanatorium.
"No to authoritarian review systems. Defend diversity in education," demonstrators shouted as they protested.
Lee Chia-hsin (
Members of the review committee are selected by the National Institute for Compilation and Translation. Their findings are then sent to the ministry for approval.
The photos of the preservation movement were included in a section on urban development and disputes over preservation of culture in the fourth grade textbook.
"Nan-I followed the committee's suggestion and replaced them with a picture of a newspaper ad calling for the sanatorium's preservation. However, it was again advised to remove the picture," Lee said.
Chan Cheng-tao (詹政道), a member of the National Teachers' Association and a junior high school social studies teacher, condemned the ministry for "crossing the boundaries of textbook review."
"The purpose of having a textbook review is to make sure that the contents strictly follow the curriculum designed by the ministry," Chan told the crowd. "The ministry has certainly exceeded its power by asking for the removal of the pictures."
"The ministry should trust our professionalism in dealing with textbook content and leading an appropriate discussion in the classroom," said Lee Pei-hsin (李佩欣), a National Taiwan Normal University student.
Ministry officials, however, denied the allegations.
"We didn't pressure the publisher -- we always leave it to the review committee members and the publisher to discuss textbook content," deputy director Cheng Lai-chang (
Cheng said that the review committee made the suggestion about the pictures because they show "protest as the only way to resolve a controversy" and "omitted other conflict resolution methods such as public hearings, lobbying and so on."
While suggestions were made, Cheng said, "It's up to the publisher to decide what to do."
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
RSS