Taipei First Girls’ High School on Monday announced that it has banned its teachers from participating in interviews with Chinese state media after Chinese literature teacher Ou Kui-chih (區桂芝) sparked an outcry by criticizing President William Lai (賴清德) on China Central Television (CCTV).
Ou criticized Lai’s move to designate China as a “hostile foreign force,” saying she did not know how she could face her Chinese relatives.
However, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the past week has held military drills encircling Taiwan — exercises that officials in the US and elsewhere have characterized as destabilizing to regional peace. Chinese state media also published cartoon pictures of Lai that referred to him as a “parasite.”
The president’s designation of China as “hostile” seems appropriate.
Ou’s purported inability to face her relatives due to Lai’s comments exemplifies the repression and hostility that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) represents — the party is intolerant of anything that contradicts its narrative.
Ou’s criticism of a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president is understandable, given the cuts to the classical Chinese curriculum initiated by the previous DPP administration. However, Ou labeling the cuts as “desinicization” is telling.
Taiwan still struggles with a lack of consensus on national identity. While for some there is a distinction between being culturally and linguistically Chinese on the one hand and politically Chinese on the other, others see no difference.
Although Taiwanese have the right to consider themselves “Chinese,” including politically, public servants — especially teachers — should refrain from statements or allusions to that effect while at work or in the public sphere. The salaries of public servants are paid by the government through tax, so they should be politically neutral on the outside.
Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) last week said that while he respects teachers’ freedom of expression, they should maintain a clear sense of national consciousness and identity. Cheng’s statement seems to overlook the lack of consensus on matters, but the spirit of the comment is correct. People employed by the state should act in the collective best interest of the nation.
Taiwanese are averse to the thought of the nation falling under Chinese rule, so Beijing’s threats to make unification happen — by force if necessary — and to punish, even execute, those advocating independence, make China a hostile foreign force in the eyes of most Taiwanese.
Taipei has recently begun cracking down on artists and content creators who publicly advocate for China’s use of military force in annexing Taiwan, even deporting Chinese who do so, but teachers who criticize the government or praise the CCP on Chinese state television are the same, if not worse, as young students are easily influenced, and national identity takes root in schools through curricula about history and shared experiences.
There are concerns that the laws do not stipulate adequate punishments for people who collude with China, while judges often impose light or deferred sentences for such acts. Lai has sought to address that by proposing the reinstatement of military tribunals for national security cases involving armed forces personnel. For cases involving civilians, the Mainland Affairs Council has suggested the establishment of a special court with judges who specialize in national security.
The government should ensure that teachers — and other public-sector workers — act in the public’s best interest and that they are strictly punished for acts of sedition or collusion with China.
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