The Ministry of Education’s first public hearing on a controversial draft of high school history curriculum guidelines ended yesterday amid debates over whether Taiwan’s history should be traced back to ancient Chinese history.
During the hearing held at Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Girls High School, pro-independence groups protested the ministry’s draft to merge ancient Taiwanese history with that of ancient Chinese.
Li Chuan-hsin (李川信), president of the Northern Taiwan Society, said Taiwan has never belonged to China and alleged that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government sought to amend the nation’s high school history curriculum guidelines for political reasons.
Li, who is also a teacher, said he used to teach his students that “we are Chinese.”
“But how many people in Taiwan nowadays truly think of themselves as Chinese?” Li asked.
However, Chi Hsing (紀欣), chairwoman of the Alliance for the Reunification of China, urged the ministry to clearly state in the guidelines that Taiwan has been part of China since the Dutch were driven out by Zheng Chenggong (鄭成?
Yesterday’s hearing was one of the four sessions organized by the ministry to address concerns raised by opposition lawmakers and academics about the draft publicized by the ministry on Monday.
In accordance with the draft, the ministry plans to have high school students spend one semester on Taiwanese history, one-and-a-half semesters on Chinese history and one-and-a-half semesters on world history in their first and second years.
Currently, high school students spend one semester on Taiwanese history, another semester on Chinese history and two semesters on world history.
Students majoring in liberal arts are required to take history on special topics in their senior year, but students majoring in science are not.
The ministry also plans to trace Taiwanese history back to China’s Three Kingdoms period (三國時代), which began in the year 220, a move interpreted by some Taiwanese academics as merging Taiwan’s history with China’s.
Max Huang (黃克武), director of the Academia Sinica’s Institute of Modern History and head of the ministry’s taskforce to amend the guidelines, said the taskforce understands that tracing Taiwanese history to ancient Chinese history would be controversial, adding that the ministry also plans to add footnotes to history textbooks telling students that there are different interpretations about this part of the history.
National Chengchi University history professor Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元) suggested that Southeast Asia be included in the guidelines given the close ties between Taiwan and the region.
Sung Wen-huei (宋文惠), a high school teacher, expressed similar views, saying that many Taiwanese children whose parents are from Southeast Asia should have the opportunity to learn the history of their parents’ homelands.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS