Debates over high-school curriculum guidelines should not be decided by which side shouts the loudest, Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華) said yesterday, rejecting demands to withdraw the ministry’s new guidelines before the expiration of a student protester-imposed deadline today.
“Although it is undeniable that there is controversy, this controversy should not become something in which one side always wins out over another side,” Wu said.
He said that there is controversy over the curriculum guidelines every time revisions are made because differences in personal and family background cause people to have differing stances on historical events and national identity.
Arguments decided by which side’s voice is loudest do not meet the spirit of academic discussion and cannot resolve controversy within society, he said, adding that an attitude of mutual respect should be established through rational classroom discussion.
Wu said the vast majority of the controversy over the new curriculum guidelines derives from the wording of certain phrases, and promised the ministry would publicize a full list of controversial portions that would not be tested by the end of next month.
He added that three additional information sessions for students would be held next month.
Sessions planned for last month were canceled after the first saw Wu confronted by angry students.
Student protesters have called for the guidelines to be withdrawn due to an allegedly “China-centric” orientation and have threatened to escalate the protests if the ministry fails to provide a “positive and effective” response by the end of today.
Northern Taiwan Anti-Curriculum Changes Alliance convener Chu Chen (朱震) said that Wu’s remarks did not constitute a “positive and effective” response because there was no shift in the ministry’s position on withdrawing the guidelines.
He added that ministry calls for discussion of the controversial issues in the classroom were hypocritical because the proposed guidelines would limit discussion.
Promises not to test controversial issues were also not new because this was in line with previous ministry practice, he said.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
The Taipei District Court today ruled to extend the incommunicado detention of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) for two more months as part of an ongoing corruption trial. Codefendants in the case — real-estate tycoon Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) and Ko's former mayoral office head Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗) — were granted bail of NT$100 million (US$3.4 million) and NT$20 million respectively. Sheen and Lee would also be barred from leaving the country for eight months and prohibited from contact with, harassing, threatening or inquiring after the case with codefendants or witnesses. The two would also be