After overcoming all odds, the Pingtung County Government has expanded its milk provisions program: From this month through the end of the first semester of the upcoming academic year, all students — from rural kindergartens to elementary and even high schools — can drink fresh milk at least five times each month. This is all thanks to the dedication of the county government, along with the cooperation of educators, to fully address students’ growth and development needs. This change demonstrates that even the most difficult tasks can be accomplished through effort and determination.
Since the Ministry of Education launched the “Fresh Milk for Every Class” policy in September last year, several teachers’ organizations have publicly expressed concerns that the policy’s implementation would increase the burden on teachers.
The Confucian hierarchy of “heaven, earth, the sovereign, parents and teachers” teaches that teachers act as parents to students while they are at school — and parents should be willing to overcome all obstacles for the sake of their children’s health and well-being.
Teachers organizations’ initial response to the “Fresh Milk for Every Class” policy was focused on finding excuses for failure rather than seeking methods for success.
I remember when I was in elementary school about 50 years ago, schools already had measures in place for ordering fresh milk. It was our biggest treat. Nearly every day, students anticipated the arrival of fresh milk.
How has Taiwan’s education system fallen so far behind in 50 years? How has something as simple as providing fresh milk for students become an impossible task?
Everything depends on human effort and the Pingtung County Government demonstrated the power of collective action in accomplishing a challenging task. In reality, the issue did not lie in a lack of refrigeration equipment; it was whether teachers were willing to take on the extra burden. It is a matter of teachers’ mindsets. If they believe: “This isn’t a teacher’s responsibility,” then even the simplest task can be met with countless complaints and excuses, but if teachers recognize the meaning and significance of the measure, they would naturally be willing to put in an earnest effort to do it well.
This is a reflection of public service as a path of self-cultivation — only by fulfilling one’s responsibilities with genuine enthusiasm can one earn recognition and respect from society.
Chen Chi-nung is a political commentator.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
China has not been a top-tier issue for much of the second Trump administration. Instead, Trump has focused considerable energy on Ukraine, Israel, Iran, and defending America’s borders. At home, Trump has been busy passing an overhaul to America’s tax system, deporting unlawful immigrants, and targeting his political enemies. More recently, he has been consumed by the fallout of a political scandal involving his past relationship with a disgraced sex offender. When the administration has focused on China, there has not been a consistent throughline in its approach or its public statements. This lack of overarching narrative likely reflects a combination
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
US President Donald Trump’s alleged request that Taiwanese President William Lai (賴清德) not stop in New York while traveling to three of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, after his administration also rescheduled a visit to Washington by the minister of national defense, sets an unwise precedent and risks locking the US into a trajectory of either direct conflict with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or capitulation to it over Taiwan. Taiwanese authorities have said that no plans to request a stopover in the US had been submitted to Washington, but Trump shared a direct call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平)
Workers’ rights groups on July 17 called on the Ministry of Labor to protect migrant fishers, days after CNN reported what it described as a “pattern of abuse” in Taiwan’s distant-water fishing industry. The report detailed the harrowing account of Indonesian migrant fisher Silwanus Tangkotta, who crushed his fingers in a metal door last year while aboard a Taiwanese fishing vessel. The captain reportedly refused to return to port for medical treatment, as they “hadn’t caught enough fish to justify the trip.” Tangkotta lost two fingers, and was fired and denied compensation upon returning to land. Another former migrant fisher, Adrian Dogdodo
RSS