Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Student protester commits suicide

Taipei Times

Dai Lin, a member of the Northern Taiwan Anti-Curriculum Changes Alliance, holds up a black umbrella at his home in New Taipei City in an undated photograph to represent the government’s opaque “black box” changes to the high-school curriculum guidelines.
Photo taken from Lin Kuan-hua’s Facebook account

A student who had campaigned against the Ministry of Education’s controversial adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines was found dead yesterday in an apparent suicide at his family’s residence in New Taipei City.

Dai Lin (林冠華), a member of the Northern Taiwan Anti-Curriculum Changes Alliance, was found dead by emergency workers who were summoned by his mother after her son failed to respond to calls outside his bedroom, the New Taipei City Fire Department said. After police arrived and broke down the door, they saw Lin lying in bed with a pan of charcoal lighted on a nearby desk, in an apparent suicide.

‘Hatchet’ men stoke education revolution

James Wang 王景弘

High-school students are raising the level of their protests against the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) over its decision to force through ideologically driven changes to the history curriculum guidelines. The protesters did not even stop at breaking into the Ministry of Education and occupying Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa’s (吳思華) office, which led to their arrest and the ministry filing charges against them, as the foolhardy Ma regime is turning back the clock to an earlier era when education was directed by the party-state.

Ma’s assent to diplomatic isolation

Taipei Times Editorial

Former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) recent visit to Japan has sparked a chorus of criticism from President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) leaders and the Chinese government, following remarks Lee made on Thursday in the Diet, including the statement: “All Taiwan’s troubles over the past half-century stem from China.”

When Lee was president, his attempts to explain Taiwan-China relations culminated in the “special state-to-state relationship” he referred to in a 1999 interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

Time for Hung and the KMT to step aside

James Wang 王景弘

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) national congress, during which Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) was officially enthroned as the party’s presidential candidate, was a farce. It wanted to give the impression of unity, but was completely lacking in any incentive or desire for unity. Its star, Hung herself, even shied away from any actual substance regarding how she actually intends to fight the coming campaign. She talked at length in platitudes and sound bites without really saying anything.

More Articles...