Pro-localization groups and academics yesterday called on newly inaugurated Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華), who assumed office on Wednesday, to lobby for an education bill that would help Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) become a part of the junior-high school curriculum.
Union of Education in Taiwan chairperson Cheng Cheng-iok (鄭正煜) told a press conference in Taipei that he and other advocates of Hoklo education have been pushing for years for the language to be included in the curriculum, but have met with objections from the Ministry of Education’s Curriculum Committee.
“The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has deprived people of their right to learn their native language for more than 60 years and we will reclaim what was taken from us,” he said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“If the ministry refuses to submit a bill to the legislature for a vote, more protests will follow,” Cheng added.
National Cheng Kung University professor of Taiwanese literature Chiung Wi-vun (蔣為文) cited Malaysia and Vietnam as examples, saying that people of Chinese descent account for merely 20 percent and 1 percent respectively of the nations’ populations, but both have included Chinese in their national education curricula.
“Hoklo is Taiwan’s native language. With ethnic Taiwanese accounting for 85 percent of the nation’s population, we have only one hour of Hoklo class for elementary school students per week and Hoklo is not even in the junior-high school curriculum,” he said. “This shows that Taiwan has trailed its neighbors in terms of the preservation of its mother tongue.”
Calling the KMT’s policy on Hoklo “oppressive,” Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安) said: “People are indoctrinated with the idea that they should not speak their mother tongue. This is intolerable. Just because Hoklo is treated with oppression does not mean it is insignificant or nonexistent,” she said.
Ho Sin-han (何信翰), an associate professor at Chung Shan Medical University, said that the education bill has the highest rates of approval among legislators from both the pan-green and pan-blue camps. He called on Wu to fulfill former Minister of Education Chiang Wei-ling’s (蔣偉寧) pledge to make Hoklo a mandatory course in the junior-high school curriculum.
Chiang in October last year pledged at the legislature that he would make Hoklo a mandatory course for junior-high school students.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS