A doctoral dissertation completed decades ago is still considered valuable today because, in the opinion of one historian, the advice provided by the author regarding public education in Taiwan under Japanese colonization is still valuable for today's educators.
"What makes the theories provided by Mosei Lin (
Lin's dissertation, entitled "Public Education in Formosa Under the Japanese Administration: A Historical and Analytical Study of the Development and the Cultural Problems" -- written in English in 1929 -- has been translated into Chinese and turned into a book.
The history professor said he recommended the book because it details Taiwan's educational system under Japanese colonial rule, pinpoints mistakes made by the intruding regime in its disrespect for Taiwanese culture and history and stresses the value of a country's history and culture to its people.
Therefore, he said the book could be used as a guideline for our government and educators today.
Hsu Fu-tong (
"Lin was right when he pointed out that it was wrong for the Japanese government to force Taiwanese to learn Japanese and neglect the teaching of Taiwanese languages at schools, as [Japanese] believed [this] would facilitate their administration. But in Lin's view, a more effective strategy would be to conform to the local culture and gradually win the hearts of the people being governed," Hsu said.
Mosie Lin, born in 1887, was the first Taiwanese to obtain a bachelor degree from University of Tokyo and also the first Taiwanese to receive a doctoral degree from Columbia University.
During his studies at Columbia University between 1927 to 1929, Lin studied under Professors John Dewey and Paul Monroe, and was greatly influenced by the liberal academic environment and democratic political system of the west.
Once the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts of National Taiwan University, Lin committed himself to the refinement of Taiwanese culture, introducing the spirits of liberty and democracy to Taiwanese students. Lin was considered a social elite of the time.
After the second world war when Taiwan was finally rid of the Japanese colonization and Lin's talents were needed the most to help lift the educational and cultural standards in Taiwan, he became one of the victims of the 2-28 Incident. But up to now, his body remains unfounded.
The incident was a brutal military crackdown on civilian protests that broke out on Feb 28, 1947 against the KMT administration on Taiwan. Thousands of Taiwan's most prominent citizens and leading intellectuals were dragged from their home to be killed or vanished without explanation as the KMT waged war against Taiwan's Japanese-educated intelligentsia.
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
As eight basketball-playing international students appealed to the Taiwanese basketball industry after they were excluded from the draft of an upcoming new league merging the P.League+ and the T1 League, the new league’s preparatory committee spokesperson Chang Shu-jen (張樹人) yesterday said the committee would tomorrow discuss the supplementary measures and whether the international students can join the draft. The students on Tuesday called for support on their right to play in the upcoming new league, after a merger involving the two leagues impacted their eligibility for the draft. The international players from the University Basketball Association (UBA), led by first pick prospect
WARNING: China has stepped up harassment of foreign vessels after its new regulation took effect last month, an official said, citing an incident in the Diaoyutai Islands The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday linked China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel illegally operating in its territorial waters to Beijing’s new regulation authorizing the China Coast Guard to seize boats in waters it claims. Chinese officials boarded and then seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China’s coast close to Kinmen County late on Tuesday and took it to a Chinese port, the CGA said. The Penghu-registered squid fishing vessel Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88) was boarded and seized by China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣), 17.5 nautical miles (32.4km) from Taiwan’s restricted waters off Kinmen,
Some foreign companies are considering moving Taiwanese employees out of China after Beijing said it could impose the death penalty on “die-hard” Taiwanese independence advocates, four people familiar with the matter said. The new guidelines have caused some Taiwanese expatriates and foreign multinationals operating in China to scramble to assess their legal risks and exposure, said the people, who include a lawyer and two executives with direct knowledge of the discussions. “Several companies have come to us to assess the risks to their personnel,” said the lawyer, James Zimmerman, a Beijing-based partner at the Perkins Coie law firm. He declined to identify