The Ministry of Education's plan to revise high school history textbooks is a pragmatic and long overdue move. While no historical account can be free of some level of subjective interpretation, there is also no denying that the version of so-called "history" that has been taught in Taiwan's textbooks for decades is so notorious for its deviation from a common-sense view of the world that it cannot be explained by subjectivity alone. Therefore, opponents who oppose the ministry's plan are simply exposing their own ideologically-driven narrow-mindedness.
A long-standing problem with Taiwan's textbooks is their departure from the truth. Examples include portraying Chiang Kai-shek (
Even more troublesome is that the history of Taiwan is typically addressed by a few short paragraphs in these textbooks, while almost all of so-called "national history" is dedicated to chapters of Chinese history. These range from childhood stories about people such as Chiang and Sun Yat-sen (
According to the ministry's plan, two separate volumes of high school textbooks will be dedicated to the histories of Taiwan and China. As for the history of the Republic of China, it will be cut into two parts, with its early years covered by the volume on Chinese history and the later years covered in the volume of Taiwan's history. This of course makes sense, because when the Qing Dynasty was overturned and the Republic of China founded in China, Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule. The ROC government did not exercise effective rule over Taiwan until after World War II.
The ministry will also include for the first time in these textbooks the debates over Taiwan's status. In the past, the country's textbooks have cited the Cairo Declaration of 1943 -- which is merely a press communique without any legal force -- as the legal basis for the claim that Taiwan's sovereignty was handed over to the ROC government. At the same time, the textbooks completely and deliberately ignore the existence of the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951 and the Sino-Japan Peace Treaty, which shows the contrary. Leaving aside the issue of which view is correct, at the very least, shouldn't the existence of these treaties and the relevant debates be addressed in the textbooks?
After all, the biggest issue that continues to rip apart Taiwan's society is the nation's sovereignty. That's not even to mention the impact this issue has on cross-strait relations -- which poses a real danger to the continuation of Taiwan's way of life -- as well as the country's national identity. Shouldn't our youngsters at least have the benefit of knowing the entire story?
The fundamental problem with the nation's education is that it teaches our youngsters to unconditionally and blindly accept dogmatic views. Under those circumstances, it's no wonder that, according to a survey conducted by a well-known local tabloid newspaper, close to 60 percent of those polled believed that the pre-World War II history of the ROC should be covered as the history of Taiwan. This poll shows exactly where the problem lies.
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
“If you do not work in semiconductors, you are nothing in this country.” That is what an 18-year-old told me after my speech at the Kaohsiung International Youth Forum. It was a heartbreaking comment — one that highlights how Taiwan ignores the potential of the creative industry and the soft power that it generates. We all know what an Asian nation can achieve in that field. Japan led the way decades ago. South Korea followed with the enormous success of “hallyu” — also known as the Korean wave, referring to the global rise and spread of South Korean culture. Now Thailand
This month’s news that Taiwan ranks as Asia’s happiest place according to this year’s World Happiness Report deserves both celebration and reflection. Moving up from 31st to 27th globally and surpassing Singapore as Asia’s happiness leader is gratifying, but the true significance lies deeper than these statistics. As a society at the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western influence, Taiwan embodies a distinctive approach to happiness worth examining more closely. The report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional habit of sharing meals — 10.1 shared meals out of 14 weekly opportunities, ranking eighth globally. This practice is not merely about food, but represents something more
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
RSS