Efforts to cut Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa’s (吳思華) stipend were stymied in the legislature yesterday, after legislators failed to reach a consensus.
Several lawmakers submitted proposals to reduce Wu’s stipend, which totals about NT$1.18 million (US$55,458), during a meeting of the Education and Cultural Committee, which was called to review budgets proposed by the ministry.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) suggested that Wu’s stipend be reduced by NT$723,000.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Cheng said the cut would serve as a reminder to Wu of his poor handling of the recent protests staged by students opposing what they call “China-centric” adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines.
Cheng said that the ministry’s ordering the arrest of a group of students and three reporters was unprecedented and has set a bad example for government agencies that are prone to becoming the focus of protests.
She said that arresting reporters had created a “chilling effect,” and its repercussions could still be felt throughout the media industry.
Cheng said that the ministry had failed to act in compliance with conclusions reached during a cross-caucus negotiation in August to resolve the standstill between protesters and the ministry to reshuffle its curriculum review committee, and instead established a “task force” to review the much-maligned history curriculum.
The task force has been criticized by several DPP legislators, who call it an offshoot of the committee, as all conclusions reached by its members must be submitted to the committee, which has the final decision on whether to defer.
Referring to an official visit Wu made to Germany in August, on which he took three days off in Berlin, Cheng said that Wu had set another bad example by going on a holiday when controversies surrounding the curriculum guidelines were still raging.
Wu said that the ministry reported “unidentified civilians” who entered its premises to the police in compliance with legal procedures and on the following day issued a public statement that it would respect reporters’ work.
Wu said that the task force was formed because history is a discipline that requires professional input, adding that a list of its members would be published next week.
Wu said that he spent time in Berlin because Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) had at the time of the protests asked him to take some time off to “contemplate his future.”
“I figured that spending a holiday in Berlin was the best option, as it would allow the security personnel and police who had been working long shifts in the wake of the protests some breathing room,” he said.
Cheng’s proposal was blocked after meeting with the objection of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Shu-hui (陳淑慧).
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