The issue of whether military instructors are still necessary on senior high school and university campuses sparked heated discussion again recently after an instructor at a Taipei vocational school threatened to punish students who launched an online campaign against the Mailiao (麥寮) petrochemical complex in Yunlin County.
Many school administrators feel that military instructors are a stabilizing force in campuses. Some of them said there could be serious troubles if campuses no longer had military instructors.
Even the country’s most prestigious tertiary education institute ,known for its liberal academic atmosphere — National Taiwan University — does not want to see its campus free of military instructors.
Military instructors have been in senior high schools and universities since 1951. During the Martial Law era, they were charged with preventing student demonstrations or riots on campuses.
In 2006, then-education minister Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝) promoted a policy that called for a freeze on assigning new military instructors to schools, with the aim of retiring all military instructors from campuses in 2020.
Along with the nation’s democratization, military instructors have transformed their missions from offering military training to providing counseling services and helping maintain school discipline. As a result, high schools and universities welcome their continued presence.
After the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regained power in 2008, the “freeze” policy was adjusted to allow schools to recruit new military instructors depending on their needs.
Feng Chiao-lan (馮喬蘭), chief executive of the Humanistic Education Foundation, said the continued presence of military instructors on campuses was not a good omen because they were a symbol of authoritarianism.
“Our education should become more open, liberal and democratic,” she said, adding that she looked forward to an early exit of military instructors from campuses.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) said she would work with the foundation to push for a revision of the Basic Education Act (教育基本法) to mandate a complete withdrawal of military instructors from schools.
Wang Fu-lin (王福林), director of the Ministry of Education’s Bureau of Students’ Military Training, said military officers can become instructors only after having served for eight years and passing an examination.
There are currently 3,700 military instructors, with 2,700 working at high schools and the rest at universities or colleges. High schools are required to have military instructors, while universities are free to decide whether to employ them.
“Nearly all universities and colleges still have military instructors,” Wang said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai