A coalition of pro-localization groups yesterday voiced support for National Chengchi University (NCCU) professor Chuang Kuo-jung (莊國榮), defending him against calls by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) that he should be dismissed as the convener of the Ministry of Education’s curriculum review committee.
Citing “vulgar” remarks Chuang had made regarding former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), and Ma’s father and his political affiliations, KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) on Monday urged the ministry to remove Chuang from his post.
“What is the KMT afraid of?” Northern Taiwan Society Chairman Chang Yeh-sen (張葉森) said at a news conference.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Saying that Chuang befits his job, Chang called on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration not to give in to pressure from the KMT, otherwise it would become a “culprit” for passing up an opportunity for reform.
Taiwan Hakka Society Chairman Li Teng-hsin (黎登鑫) said that the “one China” stance adopted by Ma’s administration saw unification-minded academics such as Wang Hsiao-po (王曉波) and Chang Ya-chung (張亞中) put in charge of developing curricula.
The Ma administration also downplayed the significance of the 228 Incident in curriculum guidelines, he said.
“Taiwanese history should not be based upon the KMT’s China-centric views,” he said.
Union of Taiwanese Teachers director-general Hsiao Hsiao-ling (蕭曉玲) said that education is different from ideologies and that the KMT has attempted to pit its own ideology against education reform.
Chuang was recently named an outstanding teacher by the NCCU, which is largely considered a conservative school, as it was founded by KMT during the nation’s totalitarian past, and the award was “a slap in the face” for the KMT, she said.
Chuang is more than qualified for his post, she said.
National Taiwan University Graduate Student Association president Yu Min-ju (于閔如) said that the KMT had long adopted a “Greater China” historic view, and that it could be plotting to reinstate this view by attacking Chuang.
Education should be based on facts, Yu said, adding that the KMT should make known its desire to create history curricula based on a “Greater China” view and see if people approve of it, rather than attempting to “sneak it in.”
Wang said that the KMT has nothing to fear and is not attempting to obstruct the curricula review process.
“It is astonishing that the DPP has appointed such a “foul-mouthed” and biased person who lacks any discipline in gender equality to serve as the committee’s convener,” Wang said.
She said that out of thousands of candidates, the DPP picked Chuang, adding that society would form its own opinion on whether his appointment was fair.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods