A group of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators and pro-Taiwan advocates yesterday took the Ministry of Education (MOE) to court over its controversial changes to high-school textbook guidelines, filing a lawsuit against Minister of Education Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧) for document forgery at the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office.
Lawyer Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said that Chiang on Jan. 27 convened a ministry meeting to review the proposed changes, at which it was concluded that a panel composed of high-school teachers and experts who had discussed the proposal earlier agreed with the “minor adjustments” to high-school textbook guidelines in the fields of language and social studies, which cover three disciplines: history, geography and civics.
However, Huang said that according to various media reports, the 43-member panel actually decided against endorsing the proposed alterations during the meeting.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“That means that Chiang has violated Article 213 of the Criminal Code, which states that a public official who causes injury to the public with the entry of a public document which he knows to be false can be imprisoned from one to seven years,” the lawyer said.
DPP legislators Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純) urged investigators to seize the audio recording and minutes of the Jan. 27 meeting, which Chiang has refused to turn over.
Many teachers, historians and members of the pan-green camp and the public have voiced strong opposition to the adjusted textbook outlines over what they say is its hidden agenda of “de-Taiwanization and Sinicization” aimed at catering to “Greater China perspective” of the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
The DPP caucus is planning to submit a proposal seeking to nullify the adjustments at the start of the legislative session today, Cheng said, adding that the public should keep pressuring the ministry until it suspends the initiative.
Ho said that the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee would also demand that the minister step down and be held responsible for the proposal.
The DPP also filed a complaint with the Control Yuan last week over what it termed the Ministry of Education’s “administrative errors.”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session yesterday while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival- threatening
RSS