Teachers from all levels of education will wear black T-shirts emblazoned with a leaking oil drum in “silent protest” at what they say are the government’s repeated failures to follow through with its promised educational policies on Teachers’ Day, the National Federation of Teachers Unions said.
Teachers’ Day is a day honoring teachers for their efforts to educate the younger generation. In Taiwan, it is marked on Sept. 28, the Gregorian calendar equivalent to the date of Confucius’ birth on Aug. 27 of the Lunar calendar.
The union said President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has promised that the average number of students per class in elementary schools would be cut to 25, but after four years in power, many classes still have 30 students.
Photo courtesy of the National Federation of Teachers Union
“We intend to stay in the classrooms this time to criticize the government. It has been the government all along that has taken the lead in breaking the trust the people should have in it,” the union said.
So far, 20,000 teachers have bought the T-shirts and more are bought every day, it added.
Union secretary-general Wu Chung-tai (吳忠泰) said the Ma administration’s repeated failures to implement its promises was wrong and that people had the right and obligation to remind the government of its pledges.
Wu said the situation would only worsen if people did not take action, adding that teachers need to tell the government that its credibility is no longer what it was and that it was, like the logo on the shirts, “leaking away.”
Wu said that if the government refused to listen to teachers, the union would consider stronger methods.
Teachers’ Association in Greater Taichung manager Chang Hsu-cheng (張旭正) said about 6,000 teachers would wear the T-shirts, adding that the teachers would also explain why they were wearing the T-shirts, should students ask.
Chang said that despite the city government reducing class sizes due to there being less children and reallocating resources to hire on average 1.55 more teachers per class in elementary schools, the teachers are complaining because the Ministry of Education refused to subsidize funding for the employment of full-time teachers for consultation.
National Principals’ Association director Hsueh Chun-kuang (薛春光) questioned the action, saying that while governmental policies needed oversight, such protests add to the sense of confrontation within society.
If the National Federation of Teachers Unions led students to civic events or courses by example, it would make Teachers’ Day much more meaningful, Hsueh said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by