Civic groups yesterday announced a new alliance targeting Ministry of Education curriculum adjustments, urging local governments to boycott textbooks based on the new guidelines.
Representatives from 21 organizations urged the ministry to withdraw the adjustments, publish relevant meeting records and draft new rules mandating public participation in future changes.
Changes to high-school social studies curriculum guidelines announced last year by the ministry fueled controversy over what critics called ideological bias and an opaque design process.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The ministry is appealing a court decision ordering the release of committee member names, meeting transcripts and voting records for the adjustments.
National Taiwan University history professor Chou Wan-yao (周婉窈) said the scope of changes belied ministry claims of having made “minor adjustments,” adding that about 60 percent of the words within the guidelines were changed.
Many of the changes were inaccurate and reflected what she called the conservative ideology of committee members, she added.
For example, the guidelines use the phrase “Filipino servants” instead of “migrant workers” and replace “foreign spouses” with “foreign brides,” she said.
Action Coalition of Civics Teachers spokesman Huang I-chung (黃益中) compared textbooks from before and after the adjustments to show that the changes failed to simplify the texts and to reduce pressure on social studies teachers, counter to ministry statements.
“They cut out sections on human rights and the White Terror era, while adding sections on the ‘family clan’ and Chinese culture that they felt were more important,” he said.
Tu Yu-yin (涂予尹), a lawyer representing the groups in their lawsuit against the ministry, said that under ministry rules, textbooks issued before the adjustments could still be used, urging schools to boycott using new textbooks.
Huang said that most schools are determining which books to use next year, with decisions expected next month.
“The guidelines are only a rough outline,” K-12 Education Administration section chief Li Hsiu-feng (李秀鳳) said. “Textbooks can have richer content and teachers can provide more diverse supplementary materials when they teach.”
She added that schools should consider students’ best interests, because standardized tests are to be based on the new guidelines.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS