A history camp planned by the student association of National Chengchi University’s history department has been criticized as a brainwashing campaign after a press release praised Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son, former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
Titled “Images, Lives and Histories,” the university’s third history camp will take place from July 8 to July 10, and is open to 50 senior-high school students. Each participant will have to pay a registration fee of NT$2,500.
However, the camp sparked criticism after the association issued a press release saying: “The event seeks to let the exploits of important historical figures, including former presidents Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo, unfold vividly in front of the eyes of young pupils and the public through multimedia systems.”
“It also endeavors to allow students to learn about major historical events and the evolution of the country in a light-hearted manner ... in an effort to facilitate and promote history education,” it said.
Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist Corps executive director Yang Yueh-ching (楊月清) said she was astonished by the way the press release hailed the Chiangs.
“It turns out that brainwashing campaigns still exist in Taiwan in 2013 and continue to attempt to instill one-sided history in the nation’s youth,” Yang said. “I am not saying that the two Chiangs are taboo subjects, but the history camp’s program should at least focus on both their achievements and faults.”
Chuang Wan-shou (莊萬壽), emeritus professor at Chang Jung Christian University’s Graduate Institute of Taiwan Studies, took to Facebook to vent his anger.
“Taiwan is experiencing a rapid retrogression. Its educational sector has not only abandoned the nation’s localization achievements, but has also distorted its values. We deplore those who sing the praises of autocrats,” Chuang wrote on his Facebook page.
Citing a famous quote by Taiwanese writer Wu Cho-liu (吳濁流), Lee Hsiao-feng (李筱峰), a professor at National Taipei University’s Graduate School of Taiwanese Culture, said “ass-kissing is not history.”
The association has since retracted the release and issued another saying: “The camp will invite history teachers to recount key events in Taiwanese history from the War of Resistance Against Japan to the Chinese Civil War and from the Chinese Nationalist Party’s [KMT] retreat to Taiwan to the nation’s post-war developments.”
A member of the association who spoke on condition of anonymity on Wednesday said that after receiving complaints from netizens over its first press release the group decided to change the press release to avoid further controversy, though the camp focuses on other historical figures as well.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS