Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday expressed sadness at the death of student protester Dai Lin (林冠華), who allegedly committed suicide in relation to the campaign against curriculum adjustments, as she said that “kids sometimes do not know any better (不懂事).”
Speaking to supporters at Chiayi County’s Singang Township (新港), Hung said that she was happy to meet everyone, but she came down from Taipei earlier yesterday morning “with a heavy heart” as something unfortunate happened in Taipei.
“The kids… They were… My heart was wrenched. It ached so badly. How could things turn out this way? Kids really need to be taught well,” Hung said on the death of Lin, who was the spokesperson for the Northern Taiwan Anti-Curriculum Changes Alliance.
Lin reportedly killed himself by burning charcoal early on Thursday morning, the day of his 20th birthday.
In his last message on Facebook, he said his only birthday wish was for the Ministry of Education to withdraw the changes made to the curriculum guidelines.
Hung said yesterday that everyone has a right to their own opinions in a plural society, but discussions should be conducted in a rational manner.
“Everyone knows that’s it’s very difficult to parent kids nowadays because they tend to be headstrong… Of course, we adults are not always right. We need to listen to what kids have to say and provide them with guidance and advice,” Hung said.
The basic principle that must be laid out to children is that they should not engage in unlawful acts to make their voices heard, Hung said.
Hung has repeatedly expressed disapproval of the ongoing protests against the ministry, demanding the revocation of proposed curriculum guideline revisions that critics say reflect “China-centric” views.
Hung urged the public to remain calm and rational in the aftermath of Lin’s suicide, adding that “kids sometimes do not know any better,” while “sometimes they do not have sufficient understanding” of public issues.
“Issues surrounding the curriculum guidelines should be discussed in a calm and rational manner. Rule of law is an integral part of a democracy,” Hung said.
She said that “youngsters today in Taiwan are disgruntled with everything,” but “are unable to state what exactly their discontent is about.”
“Young people cannot see what their future holds. They live a hard life because it is not easy to find a job or they can only find low-wage jobs. Because of that, they would rather not get married or have a baby. They cannot even afford to rent a place to live in Taipei,” Hung said.
A nation’s leader should be able to lead the country in a direction where people have confidence that they will have a better tomorrow, Hung said.
Unlike Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who canceled her campaign activities yesterday to handle the party’s responses to the students’ demands, Hung embarked on a three-day campaign in the south yesterday.
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