Student groups yesterday said the Ministry of Education had failed to meaningfully respond to their demands for the withdrawal of proposed curriculum changes, threatening further protests if they receive no response by Friday.
“While the ministry has put on the appearance of opening up textbook selection, in reality, books have already been chosen,” Northern Taiwan Anti-Curriculum Changes Alliance convener Chu Chen (朱震) said.
Chu, a student at Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School, said the ministry waited until last month to announce that schools were permitted to continue using old textbooks because most schools had already finalized textbook selections for the upcoming school year.
Photo: Hung Ting-hung, Taipei Times
Amid controversy over what critics describe as “China-centric” adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines, the groups have called for schools to continue using older textbooks based on previous guidelines.
Because the ministry defined the adjustments as “minor,” printing licenses for preadjustment textbooks remain valid.
Chu said that the ministry’s decision to allow the use of older textbooks was insufficient because printing licenses for such texts expire within three years, ensuring that schools would be forced to adopt new textbooks.
The ministry’s announcement of plans to allow wider participation in drafting curricula was vague, because it was unclear who would be included and what “supplementary measures” would be adopted to incorporate their views, he said.
Alliance spokesman Dai Lin (林冠華) reiterated demands that the adjusted curriculum guidelines be withdrawn immediately and replaced with more diverse and neutral guidelines approved through an “open and transparent process.”
Lin said protest activities would be escalated if the ministry fails to “meaningfully respond” to student demands by Friday.
The groups called on Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presumptive presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) and a number of legislators to make public their positions on the guideline changes.
The groups said that they had received funding from the DPP to purchase several umbrellas for a protest outside the ministry on Sunday, but added that most of their funding had come from donations collected at the protest itself, promising to soon make public the sources of their funding.
Further measures to protest against the curriculum changes include issuing calls for international support on social media, they said.
Netizens are invited to upload pictures of themselves holding up signs saying: “I want the facts” with the hashtag #savethehistory.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
Taiwan is concerned that China could exploit the US’ war in the Middle East, with state media citing examples from the conflict to cast doubt on the efficiency of US weapons Taiwan would use to repel an invasion. Taiwanese officials said the resumption of Beijing’s large-scale air force incursions near Taiwan after an unusual decline show that China wants to take advantage of the redeployment of US forces from East Asia to the Middle East. “This is a moment for China to exercise influence,” a senior Taiwanese security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “What China is trying to create is a
RSS