The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday filed a complaint with the Control Yuan over what it said was the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) administrative errors in its recent effort to change high-school history textbook outlines.
The ministry approved the adjusted outlines on Monday night despite strong public outcry over its perceived attempts at “de-Taiwanization and sinicization.”
DPP deputy secretary-general Lee Chun-yi (李俊毅), spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲), Department of Social Development director Kuo Wen-pin (郭文彬) and lawyer Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) submitted the document, which listed five complaints about ministry administrative errors, to the Control Yuan yesterday afternoon.
Photo: Yen Hung-chun, Taipei Times
“The MOE violated administrative procedures, the principles of neutrality and professionalism and the principle of a bottom-up consultation, and the changes were unnecessary and inconsistent with the historical facts,” Lin said.
The opaque process of the “adjustment” violated democratic principles and infringed upon the rights of students, teachers and parents, Lin added.
The ministry used “minor adjustment” as an excuse for what later became almost an overhaul of the high-school history curriculum, which betrayed historical facts, the spokesperson said, adding that the move was “political brainwashing” for the purpose of spreading a “Greater China perspective.”
Considering that Minister of Education Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧) has refused to communicate with and offer an explanation to the public, the DPP caucus will “declare war with the ministry in the Legislative Yuan,” Lin said.
Lee accused Chiang of involving himself in the adjustment as a “political tool for the Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration” and demanded that the watchdog impeach Chiang.
Control Yuan member Ma Yi-kung (馬以工) received the complaint, saying that it would be assigned for investigation, but added that the DPP was required to back up its complaint with more information.
TENSIONS: The Chinese aircraft and vessels were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a joint air and sea military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense said A relatively large number of Chinese military aircraft and vessels were detected in Taiwan’s vicinity yesterday morning, apparently en route to a Chinese military exercise in the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. In a statement, the ministry said 36 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including J-16 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or an extension of it, and were detected in the southern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from 5:20am to 9:30am yesterday. They were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
CASES SLOWING: Although weekly COVID-19 cases are rising, the growth rate has been falling, from 90 percent to 30 percent, 14 percent and 6 percent, the CDC said COVID-19 hospitalizations last week rose 6 percent to 987, while deaths soared 55 percent to 99, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the recent wave of infections would likely peak this week. People aged 65 or older accounted for 79 percent of the hospitalizations and 90 percent of the deaths, the majority of whom have or had underlying health conditions, CDC data showed. The youngest hospitalized case last week was a six-month-old, who was born preterm and was unvaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. The infant had a fever, coughing and a runny nose early this month, but