High-school students yesterday demonstrated in support of students’ rights outside a meeting to assess Taiwan’s progress in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
The review of the government’s CRC report, conducted every five years in accordance with the Implementation Act of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (兒童權利公約施行法), was held yesterday in Taipei.
Although not an official signatory to the convention, as it is not a UN member, Taiwan adopted the convention in 2014 and promulgated the act to pledge its commitment to the goals of the accord.
Photo: Chen Chia-yi, Taipei Times
A panel of five experts is meeting at the Taipei International Convention Center until Friday to review progress since the first report, and to review proposed recommendations for the next five years.
Students gathered in front of the center to call attention to “unreasonable” school regulations and norms that infringe on students’ rights.
They cited teachers measuring students’ bangs with a ruler, even though hairstyle rules were repealed 17 years ago.
The Ministry of Education in recent years eased dress regulations and mandatory morning study hall, Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy deputy director Ho Wei-tzu (何蔚慈) said.
However, schools have been slow to change, and many are operating in defiance of ministry rules, he said.
While reporting mechanisms have been updated to allow students to report contraventions, Ho said that the ministry should not wait until it receives a complaint before acting.
Instead, it should be regularly and randomly inspecting schools to ensure compliance, he added.
Authorities should check to make sure student complaints are addressed to make sure they are not left to face the situation alone, he said.
Yesterday’s demonstration was entirely student-initiated and led, Ho said, adding that they would make a presentation to the panel.
Kevin Huang (黃冠凱), head of the student council at the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University, criticized a tendency among school administrators to ignore student views.
As the representative of a student organization, Huang said he has attended many school meetings at various levels, but it is difficult for students to be heard.
For example, last year the council proposed allowing students to eat lunch off campus, but the idea was rejected in a vote dominated by school administrators, he said.
The right of children to participate in public affairs is protected under the CRC, he said, urging school administrators to listen to students’ views and respect their rights.
The Ministry of Education’s Department of Student Affairs and Special Education Director Wu Lin-hui (吳林輝) accepted a petition from the students, saying he would convey their sentiments to teachers and school administrators.
He said he recognizes their demands, but added that ministry policies are already drafted according to their demands, and following other advanced nations.
Ministry regulations are unevenly adopted by schools, Wu said, urging administrators to update their policies.
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
The government would cancel kendo practitioner Su Yu-cheng’s (蘇郁程) nationality if he is confirmed to have represented China in the World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy, last week, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. “We have consulted the Sports Administration and were told that athletes participating in the championships must have the nationality of the country that they represent. They must also present their passports as proof,” council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a weekly news conference. “If Su indeed represented China in the championships, we suspect that he has obtained Chinese nationality.” The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the