The Ministry of Education’s (MOE) insistence on pushing through the opaque adjustments to the high-school curriculum guidelines has brought widespread protests among high-school students. A few days ago, student protesters broke into the ministry building at night, which was followed by police arrests of journalists, the government’s decision to file charges against students and mounting harsh criticism of Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華).
The root of the problem lies with the ministry, which went about the adjustments clandestinely, unprofessionally, ignoring procedural justice and making at least 100 random and major adjustments to the guidelines. The changes have been questioned by academics, caused a strong backlash among students and have even been ruled against by the High Administrative Court. However, the ministry is sticking to its guns and refuses to change or engage in sincere dialogue with students. It is determined to oppose mainstream public opinion.
The ministry’s stubbornness is caused by its China-centric ideology. After World World II, education in Taiwan has undergone a process of de-Taiwanization, as the nation has been treated as an area on the Chinese periphery. Taiwanese awareness and dignity were harmed and normal development was impaired. After democratization, at a time when Taiwan is still on its way to becoming a normal nation, the ministry is attempting to reverse the progress and play its old Sinicization trick by making adjustments to the curriculum guidelines to brainwash students. However, trying to fight the young generation of pro-independence youth who have come into being is futile and doomed from the start.
The same thing happened in the legislature when the government was stopped by students as it attempted to pass the cross-strait service trade agreement last year. Hence, after the students broke into the ministry on July 23, it said that they must have been manipulated by someone; just as the pan-blue media attempted to associate the Sunflower movement with the pan-green camp. The government’s underestimation of the younger generation’s independent thinking and resolution is both absurd and disturbing.
Moreover, the ministry suggested that it was the reporters who led the students to break into the ministry building. Outrageously, the police played along and arrested the reporters.
As long as an event occurs, reporters will come uninvited. Police said that since reporters were not invited by the ministry, they were justified in arresting them, which just shows how ignorant they are about journalism. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) should clearly offer an apology. On the other hand, reporters are observers, and it is necessary to set up a system of regulation for the interaction between police and reporters at news events.
As the event has developed thus far, it is best described by a saying from the Chinese Cultural Revolution: “The smaller the temple, the stronger the wind; the more shallow the pond, the more bastards there are.” If the ministry, which has been the cause of all the trouble, continues to try to force its way, it will only be further humiliated.
Lu Shih-hsiang is an adviser to the Taipei Times.
Translated by Ethan Zhan
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