A group of civic organizations yesterday petitioned the Control Yuan to impeach Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華) over what they said was the illegal implementation of a set of controversial adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines made by the Ministry of Education.
The National Academy for Education president Ko Hwa-wei (柯華葳) was also listed on the petition, because the academy went outside of its jurisdiction by issuing official documents to textbook publishers to prohibit sales of textbooks based on the old curriculum — an act not authorized by any law, lawyer Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said.
Other petitioners included Northern Taiwan Society chairman Chang Yeh-sen (張葉森), Restoration of Taiwan Social Justice founder Lin Yu-lun (林于倫), Humanist Education Foundation executive director Joanna Feng (馮喬蘭) and Taiwan Association of University Professors chairman Peter Chang (張信堂).
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Huang said that the ministry’s curriculum committee was not legally authorized, nor could it produce any audio recording that could prove that the motion to modify high-school curriculum was put to a vote, making the whole curriculum adjustment process illegal.
The adjusted curriculum is inappropriate in content, as experts from various disciplines, including history and civic education, have raised doubt about the adjustments, he said.
The curriculum should be revoked according to the Administrative Procedure Act (行政程序法), which stipulates that an administrative act should be revoked where there is significant and obvious flaw, Huang said.
The ministry should have abolished the illegal curriculum if it aimed to abide by the law, but Wu himself violated the law by refusing to revoke the curriculum and insisting on implementing the new curriculum along with the old one, which was why they petitioned for Wu’s impeachment, Huang said.
Peter Chang said that the ministry’s 10-person committee was operating illegally, while Wu violated the law and abused his power by planning to implement the curriculum even after the Taipei High Administrative Court ruled against the ministry in its curriculum adjustment process in February.
Chang Yeh-sen said that the ministry’s actions have provoked widespread protests among high-school students.
Lin called on Wu to act in good conscience, saying that the ministry is “taking the lead to cheat” in curriculum adjustments, while high-school students are exposing the ministry’s wrongdoings.
A free exhibition aimed at teaching the public about air-raid shelters and basic emergency personal protection skills today opened on the concourse level of the Taipei MRT's Ximen Station. The event, organized by the National Police Agency, aims to raise awareness about disaster preparedness ahead of nationwide air raid drills scheduled from July 15 to 18, which are part of broader urban resilience exercises. The exhibition outlines the recommended actions people should take depending on whether they are indoors, commuting or outdoors when air-raid sirens sound. It also teaches people how to equip air-raid shelters and pack emergency "go bags," with displays
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
An electric bus charging facility at Taipei Metro’s Beitou Depot officially opened yesterday with 22 charging bays to serve the city’s 886 electric buses. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) told a ceremony to mark the opening of the facility that the city aims to fully electrify its bus fleet by 2030. The number of electric buses has grown from about 650 last year to 886 this year and is expected to surpass 1,000 by the end of the year, Chiang said. Setting up the charging station in a metro depot optimizes land and energy use, as the metro uses power mainly during the
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)