Taiwan’s participation in International Holocaust Remembrance Day would offer the nation more opportunities to be included in the UN framework, National Taiwan University (NTU) history professor Hua Yih-fen (花亦芬) said yesterday.
The day of remembrance, observed internationally on Jan. 27, commemorates the millions of people who were killed by the Nazi regime during World War II.
Speaking at a forum in Taipei about the 228 Massacre and transitional justice, Hua said that the remembrance day is advocated by UNESCO, so its ability to advance Taiwan’s participation in UN-organized events should not be underestimated.
Taiwan, with the assistance of the German Institute Taipei and the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, held its first International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony in 2016, which then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) attended, she said.
The following day, the German Institute Taipei uploaded a list on Facebook of the nations that have held commemorative events, on which Taiwan was included and Ma was addressed as “president,” she said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) attended last year’s commemorative event, she added.
Holding commemorative events on the remembrance day would help boost the nation’s international profile and help it forge a closer bond with the international community, Hua said.
She emphasized the important role education plays in the pursuit of transitional justice, citing a 2014 UN report that included Taiwan on a list of countries and regions that do not educate their young students about the Holocaust in a way that would provide them with a thorough understanding of it.
This has resulted in some Taiwanese students dressing up as Nazis for fun, which has embarrassed Taiwan, she said.
Similarly, Taiwan’s senior-high schools must be required to allocate sufficient class hours to educate students about the 228 Incident and the ensuing White Terror era, instead of just focusing on the “elite” who were murdered, like history textbooks often do, she said.
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
DEMAND: The government should enact regulations in line with Austria and Germany to incorporate vegan nutrition into school meals, an advocate said More than 1,000 people yesterday marched in Taipei to promote veganism, calling for legislation to incorporate vegan diets into school lunches and the national net zero emissions program. Participants gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building for the march, which was organized by the Vegan Action Network (VAN). Former ambassador to Chad Chiu Chung-jen (邱仲仁), actor Yankee Yang (楊子儀) and actress Cindy Lien (連俞涵) attended the event. VAN member Marianne Chao (趙梅君) said that the campaign aimed to urge the government to promote vegan diets across schools and government agencies via legislation and national policies, which would help build
RSS