In an apparent attempt to petition Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華) over a set of controversial adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines, a high-school student yesterday managed to break through a police cordon in front of the ministry’s building in Taipei, but was handcuffed and detained.
Yu Teng-chieh (游騰傑), who was later released, participated in the demonstration with a group of Taoyuan high-school students rallying in front of the ministry yesterday in an ongoing protest organized by students nationwide against curricular adjustments.
Rather than Wu, K-12 Education Administration inspector Hsu Chen-hsing (許陣興) heard the grievances, but students threatened to stage another protest at dusk if the ministry failed to respond to their request by 5pm yesterday.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The ministry modified the curricula in a “clandestine” manner, while trying to shift blame to high-school principals for canceling meetings with students over the adjustments last month, the students said.
Students scuffled with dozens of officers who formed a blockade in front of the ministry headquarters.
Outnumbered and obstructed, students retreated and accused the ministry of using barbed wire fences against unarmed and underage students who wanted to speak to Wu.
Separately, the History Teachers Deep Roots Association said in a statement that Wu must recognize that “a new generation is on the rise,” and the ministry’s lack of response and reiteration of excuses would only inspire more protesters.
“Should you [Wu] resort to state violence against those unarmed students, teachers would fight against you with their lives,” the association said.
Wu’s failure to respond to protesters’ petitions has cost him respect and trust among academics, history teachers and high-school students alike, the association said.
The adjusted guideines that Wu described as “constitutional and legal” have not been examined by an open adjustment process, the association said.
“This year’s curriculum is like a spoiled wine that the ministry, abusing its authority, nevertheless serves to teachers and students and forces them to drink,” the association said.
The association questioned Wu’s claim that the new curriculum would be implemented along with the old one, saying that this “cocktail of rancid wines” would be more unpalatable than the old curriculum, which was rushed through by the curriculum review committee in 2012.
Education must allow room for tolerance and pluralism, which are exactly what are wanted in the new guidelines, the association said.
“Why are students forced to accept the new curriculum, whose contentious nature and historical inaccuracy Wu acknowledged? Is it so difficult to respect teachers’ professionalism? Do high-school students not deserve a better history education?” the association wrote.
Saying that it disapproves of the co-implementation of new and old curricula, the association called for a more transparent and appropriate history curriculum adjustment and review process, uninfluenced by political wrestling.
Speaking to legislators across party lines, the association said that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators should “wake up” in the face of Wu’s dereliction and the Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers have failed their duty to supervise the adjustments.
The association called for an end to “drastically changing textbook contents with each transfer of [governmental] power.”
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS