The Ministry of Education on Wednesday announced that it would no longer recognize qualifications from three Chinese universities found to be arms of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) United Front Work Department.
Ignoring the reality of the CCP’s and military harassment against, and ambitions for the annexation of, the nation, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said: “Academics should be left to academics, education should be left to education.”
Huang harshly criticized the government for anti-China, pro-Taiwan rhetoric, thereby harming students in the process.
The reality is that, under the CCP’s one-party authoritarian system, even the highest-ranked Chinese universities must adhere to the principle that the party leads the school. The “About” page on Peking University’s Web site lists its CCP chairman He Guangcai (何光彩) before the president, Gong Qihuang (龔旗煌). It is evident that the party chairman is above the president.
Gong is also vice chair of the Peking University Council, which further proves that the president is second in command to the chairman. In Chinese top-ranked universities, it is abundantly clear who holds more power between the council and the president — there is a well-defined hierarchy.
The organizational structures of other universities, such as Beijing’s Tsinghua University and Shanghai’s Fudan University, are no different. As for the three blacklisted “united front” universities — Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, Jinan University in Guangzhou, and the Beijing Chinese Language and Culture College — there is even less to say. The facts are right before our eyes. Under the CCP’s rule, academics serve a political purpose. Where did Huang get the ridiculous idea that the two are unrelated?
Ultimately, the reason why academics are not simply academics and education is not simply education is due to the CCP’s “Party leads everything” ideology and its authoritarian system, using politics to oppress academics.
In the face of the CCP’s “united front” offensive, the ministry is merely exercising its right to protect hardworking Taiwanese students from being brainwashed. That is a good thing. However, Huang is turning a blind eye to the CCP’s covert “united front” tactics, remaining willfully ignorant. He even had the nerve to criticize the government’s well-intentioned protection of students against the CCP’s brainwashing and infiltration — it is foolish and malicious.
Huang Wei-ping works in public service and has a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
A few weeks ago in Kaohsiung, tech mogul turned political pundit Robert Tsao (曹興誠) joined Western Washington University professor Chen Shih-fen (陳時奮) for a public forum in support of Taiwan’s recall campaign. Kaohsiung, already the most Taiwanese independence-minded city in Taiwan, was not in need of a recall. So Chen took a different approach: He made the case that unification with China would be too expensive to work. The argument was unusual. Most of the time, we hear that Taiwan should remain free out of respect for democracy and self-determination, but cost? That is not part of the usual script, and
Behind the gloating, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) must be letting out a big sigh of relief. Its powerful party machine saved the day, but it took that much effort just to survive a challenge mounted by a humble group of active citizens, and in areas where the KMT is historically strong. On the other hand, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) must now realize how toxic a brand it has become to many voters. The campaigners’ amateurism is what made them feel valid and authentic, but when the DPP belatedly inserted itself into the campaign, it did more harm than good. The
For nearly eight decades, Taiwan has provided a home for, and shielded and nurtured, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). After losing the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the KMT fled to Taiwan, bringing with it hundreds of thousands of soldiers, along with people who would go on to become public servants and educators. The party settled and prospered in Taiwan, and it developed and governed the nation. Taiwan gave the party a second chance. It was Taiwanese who rebuilt order from the ruins of war, through their own sweat and tears. It was Taiwanese who joined forces with democratic activists
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) held a news conference to celebrate his party’s success in surviving Saturday’s mass recall vote, shortly after the final results were confirmed. While the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would have much preferred a different result, it was not a defeat for the DPP in the same sense that it was a victory for the KMT: Only KMT legislators were facing recalls. That alone should have given Chu cause to reflect, acknowledge any fault, or perhaps even consider apologizing to his party and the nation. However, based on his speech, Chu showed
RSS