Students were forced to apologize after Taichung Municipal Taichung First Senior High School came under fire for posters that used a racist slur against indigenous people, but Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was unapologetic after saying that “the education system is to blame for low wages, because it has churned out low-value students. To fix the issue of supply exceeding demand, college majors with the lowest fees should be canceled or downsized.”
Ko’s remarks overlook that low wages could be caused by a gross underestimation of the value of a job or workers’ rights violations. A worker being paid less than another does not mean their work is not needed.
The two most obvious examples are social workers and childcare workers. These professions are anything but expendable, even though they offer less than satisfactory wages. The supply and demand system does not entirely reflect a society’s labor needs either. Low salaries can lead to a labor shortage and leave a gaping hole in society.
Ko’s “low-value” remark is discriminatory, yet he refused to admit his mistake or apologize, making him even worse than the high-school students.
Ko has a history of discriminatory remarks, including objectification, for example when he said that “pretty young ladies are more suitable for sitting behind counters than being mayors,” and: “Taiwanese ladies look horrendous when they go out without makeup.”
Even worse, he also made remarks that were sexually and racially discriminatory. For example, he said: “Haven’t we imported 300,000 foreign spouses?”
Each example from Ko was worse than the posters the high-school students made. Ironically, media and influencers rebuked the students’ posters, but let a potential presidential candidate get away with bigotry.
For the past few years, Taichung Municipal First Senior High School, National Tainan First Senior High School, Taipei First Girls’ High School and others have suspended their humanities and language honors programs, partly because many students transfer to sciences when they reach grade 11. The suspensions might explain why discrimination happens, as people are taught not to value the liberal arts and empathetic education.
This trend further demonstrates Ko’s negative influence, as he is known for belittling the liberal arts and social studies.
Four years ago, Taichung Municipal First Senior High School invited Ko to speak and it was reported that he received rave reviews. Nevertheless, if schools do not wish to see a repeat of the poster incident, or parents do not want their children — including girls, minorities and those interested in the humanities and social studies — to be discriminated against, or see their children’s contribution overlooked by society, then people should use their judgement to drive out a callous and unsympathetic politician like Ko.
School campuses and the political arena need as role models people who know how to respect others.
Chen Jun-kuang is an attending physician in the psychiatry department at Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital.
Translated by Rita Wang
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