The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is “really inappropriate” for Taipei First Girls’ High School Chinese literature teacher Alice Ou (區桂芝) to be interviewed by China Central Television (CCTV), adding that the Taipei Department of Education and the school could decide if she is still fit to be a teacher.
In her interview with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-run station, Ou reportedly said that President William Lai (賴清德) should not call China an external hostile force because she still wanted to visit her mother and relatives in China.
She also reiterated her grievances toward Taiwan’s 108 curriculum guidelines for grade schools, saying it drastically curtailed study of classical Chinese literature.
Photo: CNA
Prior to the interview, Ou in a news conference attributed a “lack of integrity” among Taiwanese to the fact that students have stopped reading Honor and Shame (廉恥) by Qing-era Chinese academic Gu Yanwu (顧炎武).
Ou should know better that CCTV, the People’s Daily and Xinhua News Agency are all run by the CCP, MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told reporters at a news conference in Taipei.
“I believe that she knows the reason why CCTV wanted to interview her. It is because she would say what they wanted to hear,” Liang said when asked if Ou’s interview constituted collusion.
“We think it is really inappropriate to accept the request for an interview from a CCP-owned media outlet and speak about things that they can turn into propaganda, considering Beijing frequently dispatches military aircraft to harass us in our airspace every day,” Liang said.
However, it is up to the Taipei Department of Education and the high school to decide if she is still fit to be a teacher there, Liang said.
Article 3 of the Act Governing the Appointment of Educators (教育人員任用條例) stipulates that the appointment of educators should be based on educators’ morals and loyalty to the country, Liang said.
Asked if speaking about Chinese culture would in the future be seen as amplifying Chinese propaganda, Liang responded by focusing on what Ou said to CCTV.
“China’s hostility toward Taiwan is simply an objective fact. Otherwise, we would not have so many military aircraft flying close to Taiwan daily,” he said.
“One would not have a sense of honor and shame simply because they have read an essay written in classical Chinese,” he added.
Separately, an investigation launched by the Taipei Department of Education found that no students or faculty members in Taipei First Girls’ High School reported that Ou had breached the principle of impartiality stated in the Fundamental Act of Education (教育基本法).
Department Commissioner Tang Chih-ming (湯志民) said the investigation was launched after receiving a petition from the Ministry of Education.
“We have asked the school to verify the claim and found she did not infringe on the principle of impartiality in the classroom or on campus,” Tang said, adding that the department respects her professionalism and freedom of speech.
Ou told reporters that CCTV wanted to talk about traditional Chinese culture and educational issues, which she enjoyed talking about.
She would not reject requests for interviews unless the law forbids it, she said.
On criticism that she colluded with China, Ou said that the Constitution states that both Taiwan and China are the Republic of China.
“If I was making ‘united front’ statements, then they could be intended as ‘united front’ tactics toward China, could it not?” Ou said.
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