Recently, Examination Yuan member Lin Yu-ti (林玉体) kicked up a dispute over the national history and geography test in the entry-level national civil service examinations. Examination Yuan President Yao Chia-wen's (姚嘉文) reaction to the dispute was to simply abolish the test. This way of avoiding a unification-independence dispute may seem the perfect way of dealing with the issue. But just like Lin's statements, this is simply a matter of giving up substance for form.
Lin's reason was that "this nation" means Taiwan, and so "national history and geography" should of course mean Taiwanese history and geography. Such a conclusion makes logical sense from a Taiwan independence perspective, and it also successfully advances the movement to rectify the national title. But a more fundamental question is what basic knowledge we expect Taiwan's civil servants to have.
Wu Tai-cheng (
Yao's proposal to abolish the test makes sense on one condition only: that Taiwan's civil servants don't need historical and geographic knowledge of either China or Taiwan. Some may think it more important for a civil servant to have fundamental knowledge of modern economic, social and democratic issues than of history and geography.
The issue, however, involves the question of what demands we have on the education of civil servants. It is a comprehensive issue requiring study and debate, and not something that is solved by simply abolishing a test at the first sign of a unification-independence conflict. The selection of civil servants is not a children's game.
Taiwanese education has undeniably had a longstanding China bias, while ignoring local knowledge. Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng (
It could be debated whether these are the ideal proportions. But at least Tu has defined a standard for educational content, to be further reflected in examinations. This differs from the Examination Yuan's persistence in making names logically coherent and changing or abolishing tests without considering real needs.
Furthermore, don't Taiwan's civil servants need to understand Chinese history and geography? Lin says they all remain in Taiwan after completing their terms as civil servants. Asking rhetorically whether they are to be sent off to work in China, he adds that there is no need to test knowledge of Chinese history and geography.
Whether from a cultural, economic or political perspective, Taiwan's development has always been and always will be affected by external factors. Some say Taiwan sits on the periphery of the international system, and some say it is squeezed between empires, its development being circumscribed by China, Japan and the US, with China's influence being the strongest.
Must Taiwan's people and civil servants understand China? Yao has asked whether a national history and geography test dealing with China should deal with the Taiwanese or the current Chinese version. That is the wrong question. We can understand China, and need to explain it, from a Taiwanese perspective.
As an East Asian country that is part of the Chinese world, there is no reason for Taiwan to actively give up its right to define China's history and culture. Passing that right to China would weaken Taiwan's cultural, intellectual, political and economic status globally and enhance Chinese control over Taiwan.
Yao was right in saying that Lin's appointment as head of the basic-level civil servant recruitment examination committee could not be opposed just because Lin favors Taiwan independence. Lin will of course bring his ideals to bear on his professional duties. But normalizing Taiwan's abnormal situation doesn't only entail rectifying the national name.
If Lin gave careful thought to using his status as an Examination Yuan member to promote Taiwan independence, instead of giving up substance for form, he could come up with new names describing useful content.
He could do this by changing the names of the "national history and geography," "national cultural history" and "outline of national literature" tests and expanding their scope. Taiwan independence also requires supporting measures.
Ku Er-teh is a freelance writer.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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