Nearly 100 students protesting against high-school curriculum guideline changes who were gathered in front of the Ministry of Education suddenly charged onto the premises of Legislative Yuan nearby by climbing over the wall and fences at about 10pm yesterday.
Throwing “ghost money” in the air as they assembled at the front entrance inside the legislative compound, the students chanted: “The party state killers are great! [Minister of Education] Wu Se-hwa (吳思華) is a murderer! Convene an extra session now for legislators to abolish curriculum [changes] via vote!”
As of press time at midnight last night, the police, on alert at the nearby Ministry of Education building, had not made any moves concerning the students at the Legislative Yuan, resulting in an apparent standoff.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The students stated their intent to fulfill the birthday wishes of Dai Lin (林冠華), the student protester who had apparently committed suicide.
Earlier yesterday, angry student activists confronted Wu, accusing him of being a “murderer” and demanding his resignation after the minister emerged from the apartment complex housing the family of Lin (林冠華).
Lin had played a leading role in student protests against the education ministry’s controversial adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines that critics say reflect a “China-centric” view.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Wu met Lin’s family members for half an hour before emerging to host a press conference with Lin Shu-kuei (林淑貴), the principal of New Taipei Municipal Juang Jing Vocational High School, which Lin had attended.
Following the press conference, activists again confronted Wu over the ministry’s refusal to drop the new guidelines — which are scheduled to take effect tomorrow — criticizing his handling of the controversy and demanding his resignation.
“I’ve been protesting against the guidelines for three months — why haven’t you come out? Why have I only seen you today?” Northern Taiwan Anti-Curriculum Changes Alliance spokesman Wang Pin-chen (王品蓁) asked, choking up with tears.
Photo: Chien Li-chung, Taipei Times
In response to student demands that the guidelines be dropped, Wu reiterated the ministry’s position that it would not interfere with school teachers’ choice of textbooks, with teachers free to choose older textbooks drafted before the implementation of the adjusted guidelines.
His remarks sparked cries of “lies” from the activists, who yelled for the “minister murderer” to “face the music” as he was hustled away by bodyguards.
Three men in plainclothes pushed a student to the ground, prompting other students to chase them to their car, demanding that they reveal their identity. The students then surrounded the car to stop the men from leaving, blockading the vehicle until police officers arrived and shoved them aside, allowing the car to leave.
Photo: Chien Li-chung, Taipei Times
In response to media queries, Wu said he was willing to take “full responsibility” for all of the controversy sparked by the curriculum guidelines.
When asked what “full responsibility” meant, he said he would make an “appropriate statement.”
He expressed “regret” at Dai Lin’s death, while ruling out withdrawing the new curriculum guidelines.
When asked whether the ministry would drop charges against the student activists who broke into the ministry building with Lin last week, he said that the ministry would show the “greatest possible legal goodwill.”
By evening a crowd of close to 100 had gathered outside of the ministry compound, lighting candles and placing posters on the surrounding razor wire barricades featuring a ghost-like picture of Wu, wishing the minister “sweet dreams.”
Independent music promoter-turned-activist organizer Yao Ken-hsiang (姚茛翔) said that Wu’s “cold-bloodedness” and “shamelessness” were “unassailable.” Given that Wu was totally “unfeeling” regarding Lin’s death, the most activists could do was wish him a “good night sleep” without running into Lin in his dreams, he said.
Separately yesterday, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said he felt profound grief upon learning that Lin was found dead, adding that the ministry should hold talks with students who oppose the curriculum changes.
There should be a balance between support for the freedom of speech and a society ruled by law in the exchange of ideas, Ma said.
Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) was quoted by Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) as saying he was “extremely grief-stricken” after hearing about Lin’s death and immediately asked Wu to provide necessary assistance to the student’s family.
Mao said that young people who are still learning and growing need the support and assistance of their families, schools, the government and society on many aspects, including their daily and mental lives.
As the social atmosphere and public issues nowadays might be exerting great stress on young people, the family and the school should offer them strength and support and “not have them bear unnecessary pressure,” Sun quoted Mao as saying.
Additional reporting by Alison Hsiao and CNA
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
‘LAGGING BEHIND’: The NATO secretary-general called on democratic allies to be ‘clear-eyed’ about Beijing’s military buildup, urging them to boost military spending NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte mentioning China’s bullying of Taiwan and its ambition to reshape the global order has significance during a time when authoritarian states are continuously increasing their aggression, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. In a speech at the Carnegie Europe think tank in Brussels on Thursday, Rutte said Beijing is bullying Taiwan and would start to “nibble” at Taiwan if Russia benefits from a post-invasion peace deal with Ukraine. He called on democratic allies to boost defense investments and also urged NATO members to increase defense spending in the face of growing military threats from Russia
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
TECH CONFERENCE: Input from industry and academic experts can contribute to future policymaking across government agencies, President William Lai said Multifunctional service robots could be the next new area in which Taiwan could play a significant role, given its strengths in chip manufacturing and software design, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman and chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. “In the past two months, our customers shared a lot of their future plans with me. Artificial intelligence [AI] and AI applications were the most talked about subjects in our conversation,” Wei said in a speech at the National Science and Technology Conference in Taipei. TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, counts Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Apple Inc and
RSS