Dozens of university professors yesterday launched a petition to protest against the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) “concern” for student protesters, demanding the ministry apologize for its implicated threats to student activists.
Representatives of the 36 university professors who signed the petition expressed grave concerns at a press conference over “the re-emergence of the White Terror” embodied in an e-mail from the ministry, which asked universities to “show concern” for students taking part in anti-media monopoly protests last week.
“We ask the ministry to stop applying inappropriate pressure in the name of discipline and to stop wrongful authoritarian implications. We also demand the ministry apologize for its oppression of freedom of speech,” National Cheng Kung University political scientist Leung Man-to (梁文韜) said.
The petition was launched based on the purpose of having higher education — to cultivate independently critical citizens — and was supporting the students’ cause, which asked the government to reject the controversial Next Media deal and safeguard freedom of speech in Taiwan, Leung said.
While Minister of Education Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧) has reiterated that the e-mail was written “with good intentions” and that the ministry has never asked anyone to collect the names of student protesters, Leung said Chiang still owed the public an explanation and apology.
Fu Jen Catholic University philosophy professor Shen Ching-kai (沈清楷) said he was proud of what the students had done in two protests last week, adding that it should have been viewed as “a success story of civil society in Taiwan.”
“The students have shown self-discipline, critical thinking, organizational ability and creativity in the staging of their peaceful protests,” Shen said.
If the ministry cared about the students’ health, it should have sent staff to the protests rather than sending an e-mail after they had ended, Shen said.
Shen went on to criticize the ministry’s Student Affairs Committee, the author of the e-mail, saying that the committee is “an authoritarian legacy that should not have existed.”
Anthony Yeh (葉浩), an assistant professor at National Chengchi University, said he was deeply moved by the student-led protests and felt that “these are the students we need to keep society moving forward.”
It was also necessary for academics to step forward and support the protests to demonstrate the importance of participation and citizen engagement that they have been teaching their students, Yeh said.
“We need independent citizens and officials who dare to speak the truth, not blindly obedient people and obsequious officials. That is why we are speaking out today to support the students,” Yeh said.
The professors said they are still collecting signatures on the petition from academics.
National Taiwan University’s student association also condemned the ministry’s “authoritarian oppression of the student movement” and reaffirmed its support of students’ freedom to take part in civil movements.
Student association representative Lin Yen-yu (林彥瑜) cited sources from various universities as saying that military officers had caused panic by questioning professors and students on the matter.
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