A student at Taoyuan Municipal Wuling High School was recently subjected to relentless online public shaming by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taoyuan City Councilor Chan Chiang-tsun (詹江村) for jokingly referring to Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) as the “Mayor of Sindian” at the school’s graduation ceremony on Monday. Chan — who has boasted that he has a Chinese ID card — went so far as to disclose the student’s disability status.
The public undoubtedly has the right to scrutinize and comment on the residence and governing style of elected officials. It has been reported that Keelung Mayor George Hsieh (謝國樑) lives in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), while Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) is frequently spotted shopping in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店). Given that mayors bear responsibility for the development and governance of their respective cities, whether their daily lives are closely connected to the municipalities they serve is naturally a political indicator that voters pay close attention to.
By referring to Chang as the “Mayor of Sindian,” the student not only demonstrated their concern over current affairs, but also reflected a spirit of civic criticism. If even a lighthearted remark grounded in fact cannot be tolerated, and is instead branded by councilors as evidence of the failure of the educational system, does that mean we are to teach young people to remain silent in the face of those in power and offer nothing but blind, unquestioning praise?
In his Facebook post, Chan indiscriminately labeled the student as a rude “bluebird” (青鳥) — referring to a civic movement last year that sought to recall KMT legislators — using his online influence to lead a public shaming campaign. When the student, under pressure, privately sent Chan an apology and promised to improve, Chan not only refused to delete his post, but allowed the online harassment to continue. Chan’s behavior is a plain example of the powerful bullying the weak, using his position to crush a defenseless young soul. The Taoyuan Department of Education should launch an investigation to protect the victimized student.
To protect her child, the student’s mother called Chan to say that the student is only 18 years old and has a disability. Chan deleted his original post, but disclosed the student’s private health information online. Such conduct is a breach of the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) and the Special Education Act (特殊教育法). The whole incident begs the question — have the public authorities in Taoyuan fallen asleep? Are the city’s Department of Social Welfare and the Department of Education powerless to act or impose penalties? I hereby formally report Chan’s bullying behavior — whether or not the Taoyuan City Government chooses to act, the public is watching.
Chan recently reiterated his claim that he holds a Chinese ID card, brazenly adding that there is nothing Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳), the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau or the National Immigration Agency can do about it.
His conduct not only contravenes the law and crosses national security red lines, but also constitutes a blatant provocation against Taiwan’s democratic rule of law. Under the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), Republic of China (ROC) citizens are prohibited from having household registration in China or holding Chinese passports. Offenders are subject to the loss of both their ROC citizenship and their right to hold public office.
Faced with a political clown who bullies a young student while allegedly operating in a gray area of national security, public authorities must demonstrate the resolve to impose strict punishments and revoke his right to hold office.
Lin Han is a junior-high school teacher.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
The White House’s decision to take a 9.9 percent stake in Intel Corp is looking like very shrewd business indeed. Since the government bought in at US$20.47 a share last August, the US chipmaker’s surging stock price has delivered the US a US$43 billion return. One of the reasons the investment has so far proved so sound is that the White House has made sure of it. According to The Wall Street Journal, Howard personally pushed deals on Intel’s behalf with some of the most lucrative clients imaginable. They include Nvidia Corp, the company at the heart of the AI
A single photograph can cut through a lot of noise, but it can also be used to misrepresent the truth. At the very least, it can concentrate the mind on something that requires further investigation. On Monday last week, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation CEO Tai Hsia-ling (戴遐齡) and former National Security Council secretary-general King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) held a news conference in which they showed a photograph of former foundation CEO Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑), now Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) deputy chairman. In the image Hsiao is seated next to Xiamen Taiwan Businessmen Association chairman Han Ying-huan (韓螢煥). The two men were holding
I first met Professor Ray Jiing (井迎瑞) as a film and documentary student at Shih Hsin University’s (SHU) Department of Radio Television and Film in 1988. The following year, he went on to become the director of the Chinese Taipei Film Archive — forerunner of the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI). Over his eight-year tenure, Jiing rescued and restored over 200 classic Taiwanese films. In 1997, he established the Graduate Institute of Studies in Documentary and Film Archiving at Tainan National University of the Arts (TNNUA), and I joined the program in his third cohort of students. Beyond a
A recent report concerning a student who is suing his teacher posed the question in its headline: Does failing a student in two subjects constitute bullying? The college student in Chiayi County apparently sought NT$2 million (US$63,603) in state compensation, but a court dismissed the case. The first reaction of many might have been to ask: What has happened to students nowadays? Some say that teachers have lost their authority, while others say students are overindulged. Some even start reminiscing over the days when “whatever the teacher says goes.” However, the real issue might be overlooked if emotional reactions like that are the
RSS