Parents, Taipei city councilors and lawmakers yesterday called on the Ministry of Education to address what they said were volunteers using morning recess at schools to instill religious beliefs in students.
Several city councilors had already raised concerns that volunteers from the Rainbow Family Life Education Association — nicknamed “rainbow moms” — were allegedly using recess to teach students at elementary and junior-high schools material that is religious in nature.
The “character and life education” courses by the association have been taught at schools for two decades, data provided by the parents showed.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
More than 600 elementary and junior-high schools nationwide have been affected, the parents told a news conference in Taipei organized by Green Party Taiwan members and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, as well as DPP and New Power Party Taipei city councilors.
They accused the association of using recess, a gray area in terms of regulation, to “enter campuses and spread religion.”
One parent identified only as Grace said that while the association says its course material is public, parents must spend money and attend preparatory sessions to see it.
“What kind of teaching material needs to be this mysterious?” she asked.
Another parent, who wished to be identified only as Lulu, said that rainbow moms not only write Christian doctrines on blackboards, but also ask students to memorize them.
Calling the situation “unacceptable,” she urged the ministry to use Article 6 of the Educational Fundamental Act (教育基本法) to intervene.
Taiwan’s religious freedoms should not be abused, DPP Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) said.
The use of morning recess to “forcefully instill religious thought in students” goes against the concept of religious freedom, she said, adding that the parents fear that by speaking up, they might face threats from religious groups.
A parent identified only as Emma said that even though she is worried and afraid of the potential backlash from religious groups, she feels that if she does not stand up, many parents would continue to be left in the dark.
Japanese footwear brand Onitsuka Tiger today issued a public apology and said it has suspended an employee amid allegations that the staff member discriminated against a Vietnamese customer at its Taipei 101 store. Posting on the social media platform Threads yesterday, a user said that an employee at the store said that “those shoes are very expensive” when her friend, who is a migrant worker from Vietnam, asked for assistance. The employee then ignored her until she asked again, to which she replied: "We don't have a size 37." The post had amassed nearly 26,000 likes and 916 comments as of this
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
Tourism in Kenting fell to a historic low for the second consecutive year last year, impacting hotels and other local businesses that rely on a steady stream of domestic tourists, the latest data showed. A total of 2.139 million tourists visited Kenting last year, down slightly from 2.14 million in 2024, the data showed. The number of tourists who visited the national park on the Hengchun Peninsula peaked in 2015 at 8.37 million people. That number has been below 2.2 million for two years, although there was a spike in October last year due to multiple long weekends. The occupancy rate for hotels
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
RSS