More than 130 historians from universities and research institutions across the country have signed a petition calling for the Ministry of Education to revoke its adjustments to high-school history curriculum outlines due to their lack of academic professionalism and due procedure.
The petition, the largest mobilization of Taiwan’s historians, is still open to signatures and is aimed at voicing historians’ opposition to the President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration’s “ambush” on educaion, petition initiator Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元), head of the Graduate Institute of Taiwan History at National Chengchi University, told a press conference.
“We urge the ministry to respect academic professionalism and to revoke the curriculum changes. Meanwhile, we will keep up the pressure by collecting more signatures,” Hsueh said.
After the details of the curriculum changes were unveiled last month, historians have said the “minor adjustments” were “not minor, but major changes” and an effort to “de-Taiwanize and Sinicize the nation.”
For example, under the adjustments, the “Japanese-governed period” was changed to “Japanese occupation period” and the period during which Koxinga, also known as Cheng Cheng-kung (鄭成功), ruled Taiwan in the 17th century was named the “Ming Cheng period” to highlight Taiwan’s historical ties to China.
“[Those changes] went further than changing a simple word. They jeopardized history’s nature of objective existence and obliterated historians’ research,” said Chang Su-bing (張素玢), director of National Taiwan Normal University’s Graduate Institute of Taiwan History.
Noting that historians usually prefer to stay out of politics, Hsu Hsueh-chi (許雪姬), a researcher at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Taiwan History, said she decided to step forward and speak up because “the situation has become unbearable.”
“The Ma administration does not even bother pretending to be fair now. They just do whatever they want. Their intention and anxiety to incorporate Taiwan into China is easy to see,” Hsu said.
“The curriculum adjustments were carried out for no other reason than unification, as far as I’m concerned,” she added.
Having an economics professor serve as the convener of the ministry’s review task force, which played an integral role in the adjustment, was “ridiculous,” said Chen Chin-ting (陳進丁), director of National Dong Hwa University’s Department of History, adding that the adjustments were being used as a tool for the government’s ideology and have made it difficult for teachers to do their job.
Citing his experience serving on the consultation board of previous curriculum adjustments, Taiwan History Association chairman Tsai Chin-tang (蔡錦堂) said there was an “evil side” to the recent changes to high-school history, Chinese and civil ethics curriculums.
He said curriculum outlines should focus on principles rather than details and the government should consult academics specializing in Taiwanese history and teachers before making such changes.
“I would not say that was the banality of evil. It’s been obvious to me that it was an intentional evil,” Tsai said.
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