A former teacher at Zhongshan Junior High School in Taipei, Hsiao Hsiao-ling (蕭曉玲), yesterday protested a decision by the Supreme Administrative Court not to hear her appeal against her dismissal by the school from a teaching position, which she believed to be a political decision.
Formerly a music teacher at Zhongshan Junior High School, a public school in Taipei, Hsiao openly opposed Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) single-version textbook policy and filed a lawsuit against Hau in November 2007.
Hsiao sued Hau because she believed the policy violated the Ministry of Education’s textbook policy guideline of “one curriculum, different textbooks,” which was created to ensure diversity in education.
Following Hsiao’s open opposition to Hau’s policy proposal, the school held a teachers’ evaluation meeting and decided to fire her because she had “defects in behavior” that might “harm the image of teachers.”
Hsiao was removed from her teaching position in January 2008.
“This is a very serious accusation to a teacher, because a teacher who is fired on such grounds is forever deprived of his or her qualification as a teacher,” Hsiao told a press conference in Taipei yesterday. “Yet, the evidence that the school provided was very weak.”
For instance, the school submitted to the court a picture of a clock showing the time to be 3:10pm and used it as evidence that Hsiao was 10 minutes late to a class. The school claimed that she was constantly late for class.
Hsiao appealed her case to the city’s Department of Education and then to the Taipei High Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court.
The Department of Education supported the school’s decision and the Taipei High Administrative Court also ruled in favor of the school, saying it respected the expertise of those taking part in the teachers’ evaluation meeting. The Supreme Administrative Court refused to hear the case last month, saying judges do not have any educational expertise.
Via a written statement, Humanistic Education Foundation executive director Joanna Feng (馮喬蘭) said the school’s decision to fire Hsiao was political and that “the judiciary is apparently lending a helping hand to political repression.”
“If the court simply respects -decisions made by schools — or other government institutions — what do we need courts for?” Feng asked.
She said it was ironic that many schools try to give teachers who have sexually assaulted students “another chance, but are imposing such a harsh punishment on a teacher based on some very weak evidence.”
Having been unemployed for four years since being fired by the school because she has lost her qualification to teach, Hsiao said she would continue to fight and campaign for changes in the education system.
“I’m fighting not only for justice, I’m also fighting to defend my honor, because the school accused me of something I didn’t do,” Hsiao said. “I’m not just fighting for myself, I’m fighting for all teachers, because if we don’t make changes within the education system, other teachers may also be sacrificed and suffer defamation.”
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS