National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) on Thursday said it is amending the lyrics of the school anthem ahead of its centennial celebrations in 2022, adding that any changes would be nonpolitical and a result of a consensus among students, the faculty and alumni.
Students first raised the issue in 2018, calling on the school to “make” a new, centennial anthem, said project convener Ko Hao-jen (柯皓仁), the university’s chief librarian.
The project has changed from creating a new anthem to modifying the current one, Ko added.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Founded as a school to train teachers, NTNU has evolved into a general university, with the addition of colleges of science, management and technology among others, Ko said.
In light of this transition, certain phrases in the lyrics, such as “the Normal [university] is accorded the utmost respect” and “the heavy responsibility of a teacher” are out of date, Ko said.
Some students also object to phrases such as “to be joyous when reunited with the motherland,” Ko said, adding that it is not a sentiment shared by all.
If left unchanged, it would continue to haunt the university, he said, adding that students in 2016 protested during a musical festival at the school to advocate for the change, he said.
This is a point of contention across generations of NTNU students, Ko said.
To prevent further conflict, the project has said that it would not target specific controversial lyrics, he said.
The project seeks to remake the anthem into something more befitting the university’s current functions and future development, he added.
To ensure a diversity of opinions and be as inclusive as possible, the project includes faculty from different age groups as well as student representatives, he said.
The group has thus far agreed that the anthem’s musical composition would remain the same to ensure unity of past and future students when singing it together, but they have not yet decided whether changes in the lyrics should be put to a vote or to hire a professional lyricists, Ko said.
The project would maintain the utmost neutrality and seek a consensus among faculty, students and alumni, he added.
A university alumnus, surnamed Feng (馮), said that they have not even heard, much less sung, the school anthem.
However, Feng said it is good that the university is willing to change the lyrics, as it demonstrates a progressive attitude.
Another alumnus, surnamed Hsu (許), said that they supported the changes to make the anthem more modern.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS