The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday demanded that the Ministry of Education remove former ministry secretary-general Chuang Kuo-jung (莊國榮) from his post as convener of a curriculum guidelines review committee, citing what the KMT called his past “vulgar remarks.”
At a news conference in Taipei yesterday morning, KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) said education is vital for younger generations and is supposed to transcend politics.
“However, Chuang is not only notorious for his often vulgar and preposterous rhetoric, but also for his apparent political affiliations,” Wang said.
Urging the ministry to immediately dismiss Chuang and remove him from the committee, Wang also called on parents to jointly oppose Chuang’s participation in the committee.
Wang said the public would not accept the decision by the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to appoint Chuang, who left the ministry years ago over inappropriate remarks, to serve such a significant post in the committee.
“Chuang is less deserving than elementary and junior-high school students of participating in the process of reviewing curriculum guidelines. Curricula could become unimaginably horrific if we let someone like him be a part of this endeavor or serve as the convener of the committee,” Wang said.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Hu Wen-chi (胡文琦) last month at a news conference also criticized the ministry’s designation of Chuang as the committee’s convener.
“A teacher is someone who conveys the truth, passes on knowledge and clarifies doubts. Chuang is unfit for the job in terms of both his words and actions,” Hu said.
Hu said Chuang’s past remarks have proven him to be a man guided by outdated stereotypes and ideologies, hatred and obscene ideas, citing as examples Chuang’s use of terms such as khai tsa boo (開查某), a Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) term meaning “visiting a prostitute,” and xiao naonao (小孬孬), Chinese for “being a pussy.”
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