Bo Ai Elementary School in Taipei said yesterday that it would not discriminate against any student, although several teachers and parents have voiced opposition to former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) grandson Chao Yi-an (趙翊安) being allowed to enroll at the school.
“Any child whose household record is registered within the district of the school is welcome to attend,” Wang Jen-yu (王壬佑), director-general of the school’s academic affairs department, told reporters.
“If Chao Yi-an enrolls in the school, the school authorities will ensure that administrative impartiality is maintained. We also hope that teachers will treat him the same as other students, without discrimination,” Wang said.
Chao Yi-an is the son of Chen’s daughter, Chen Hsing-yu (陳幸妤), and her husband, Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘).
School principal Su Tsai-tien (蘇再添) said he respected the right of Chao’s parents to choose the best school for their son, adding that the school would welcome Chao Yi-an if his parents decided to bring him there.
The six-year-old Chao Yi-an has reached the minimum school age in accordance with the National Education Act (國民教育法) and is legally entitled to enroll in the school.
However, several users of the school’s online message board who identified themselves as teachers and parents whose children are pupils at the school voiced objections to the possibility of the boy’s enrollment.
“I have been worried that my child will make friends with bad classmates, but I feel relieved, because your school will serve as a gatekeeper,” a user with the screen name “a parent of a student” said.
“Children of corrupt convicts [sic] like Chao Yi-an should not be allowed to attend the school. I don’t want my child to go to the same school as convicts’ children,” the user said in a message posted last Thursday.
The school has issued a statement saying that it would never discriminate against students based on their sex or social, economic or political background.
Taipei City Councilor Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) yesterday confronted Taipei City Department of Education officials at the school, saying that Chao Yi-an’s registration notice had been mailed to the former president instead of his parents.
“I think you are deliberately giving them a hard time. Why did you send Chao Yi-an’s registration notice to a person [at the detention center] in Tucheng [土城]?” Chuang said.
In response, the officials said the notice should have been sent to Chao Yi-an’s parents, although the school usually mails such documents to the head of a household.
The officials promised to review the school’s procedure.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said the boy should be spared the political wrangling of adults.
“Even if [his grandfather] made mistakes, the child is innocent,” Lo said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS