Taiwan is a society in which everything is politicized and democracy is abused. Political interference and media hype invariably blur the boundary between right and wrong on many issues. Five students from the Chinese Military Academy were recently expelled from the school after they were caught cheating on tests. The students and their parents turned to legislators, both from the ruling and opposition parties, to make their appeals heard. They have even gone on TV talk shows to complain about the injustice they suffered. This is a typical case of debased moral values.
If a similar incident occurred at the US Military Academy at West Point, no one would have doubted the school's handling of the matter. Even the political powers that be would not have so flagrantly interfered in the school's measures or they would be looked down upon by the public.
Students expelled for cheating should be admitting to their wrongdoing. They should be worrying that talking about it so loudly might invite more public attention and contempt, which in turn might make it even more difficult for them to seek education or jobs.
Cheating on exams is not uncommon anywhere in the world. When someone is found out cheating, schools will normally handle the matter in accordance with their regulations. Even if the students or parents in question disagree, they can only accept the measures. What attracts attention about this incident has been that it happened at a military academy, which normally emphasizes strict discipline.
Next, military personnel should hold honor as dearly as they hold their own lives. When a case of cheating occurs during an exam, it is reasonable for the school to set high standards and handle the matter accordingly. Instead, there was a collective petition. If the future military officers of this country will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, then aren't they simply throwing away the values of responsibility and honor? Who can guarantee that such officers will not betray their country in wartime?
A military academy is a community with strict discipline. If the people involved and their families believe they did nothing wrong, then they can appeal through proper channels. If the students did cheat, the school may still have some room for leniency, but such room will be rather limited. When the students and their parents do not hesitate to run around crying foul, their actions will be difficult to justify even if they are emotionally understandable.
Parents who pamper their children like this are setting an improper example. They are confusing the boundaries between right and wrong, not only damaging the image of military personnel but also making their problems worse. As for the interference of legislators, perhaps they are providing their services to their constituents, but political interference or lobbying without any distinction between right and wrong will seriously harm the legislator's moral views and judgment.
The incident shows that this nation still has a long way to go in establishing the rule of law and professional ethics. These values often come under pressure from politicians and the media. The proper priority order for handling such incidents -- law, reason, emotion -- is often reversed to become "emotion, reason, law." The harm done to the individual is even greater than that to collective interests. If everyone competes over who has more muscle instead of more reason, then where is social justice to be found?
Can the armed forces still fight if they aren't even clear about what is right and what is wrong, about honor and discipline?
Weeks into the craze, nobody quite knows what to make of the OpenClaw mania sweeping China, marked by viral photos of retirees lining up for installation events and users gathering in red claw hats. The queues and cosplay inspired by the “raising a lobster” trend make for irresistible China clickbait. However, the West is fixating on the least important part of the story. As a consumer craze, OpenClaw — the AI agent designed to do tasks on a user’s behalf — would likely burn out. Without some developer background, it is too glitchy and technically awkward for true mainstream adoption,
On Monday, the day before Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed on her visit to China, the party released a promotional video titled “Only with peace can we ‘lie flat’” to highlight its desire to have peace across the Taiwan Strait. However, its use of the expression “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平) drew sarcastic comments, with critics saying it sounded as if the party was “bowing down” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Amid the controversy over the opposition parties blocking proposed defense budgets, Cheng departed for China after receiving an invitation from the CCP, with a meeting with
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) is leading a delegation to China through Sunday. She is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing tomorrow. That date coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which marked a cornerstone of Taiwan-US relations. Staging their meeting on this date makes it clear that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intends to challenge the US and demonstrate its “authority” over Taiwan. Since the US severed official diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, it has relied on the TRA as a legal basis for all
A delegation of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials led by Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) is to travel to China tomorrow for a six-day visit to Jiangsu, Shanghai and Beijing, which might end with a meeting between Cheng and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). The trip was announced by Xinhua news agency on Monday last week, which cited China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Director Song Tao (宋濤) as saying that Cheng has repeatedly expressed willingness to visit China, and that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee and Xi have extended an invitation. Although some people have been speculating about a potential Xi-Cheng
RSS