Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Being pro-China will save no one

Roger Wu 吳哲文

Roson (羅森), a renowned Taiwan-born wuxia (“martial arts and chivalry”) novelist who shot to fame in Taiwan for having mature content in his works, has moved his career to China several years ago. He settled down in Zhuhai in Guangdong Province while managing a novel Web site for years.

He was arrested earlier this year and given a 12-year sentence for “producing, selling or disseminating obscene articles for profit,” according to online reports.

News of him serving a sentence first appeared on Chinese gaming Web site NGA and shortly after, the news spread to Professional Technology Temple’s gaming bulletin board.

Office criticizes Chinese trade ruling

Taipei Times

Beijing is using trade to manipulate Taiwan’s politics, the Office of Trade Negotiations said yesterday after China announced that a ban on imports of more than 2,455 categories of Chinese goods constituted a “trade barrier.”

The Executive Yuan office said in a statement that a Chinese probe contravened WTO rules and Taiwan did not accept it.

The investigation was politically motivated and China should immediately cease its political manipulation of Taiwan, it said, without elaborating.

Ancient texts unrelated to morality

Taipei Times Editorial

Ever since the Ministry of Education promulgated the 2019 curriculum guidelines, critics have always complained about the “mass reduction” of classical Chinese content. They say it is part of government efforts to “de-Sinicize” education, which has led to moral depravity and degeneracy in society.

With the recent controversy surrounding the omission of the Ming Dynasty academic Gu Yanwu’s (顧炎武) work Honesty and Morality (廉恥) in mind, the issue seems to never age as a hot election topic. However, perhaps it is worth thinking about whether classical Chinese still retains as much significance or importance in modern life as academics claim and what kind of impact it has on the public’s linguistic skills in the long run.

Education with no indoctrination

Chen Chi-nung 陳啟濃

Alice Ou (區桂芝), who teaches Chinese language and literature at Taipei First Girls’ High School, stirred up controversy over remarks she made at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan on Monday last week, in which she criticized the 2019 curriculum guidelines for de-emphasizing classical Chinese.

Subsequently, Ou sought to rationalize her remarks by citing President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) advocacy of respect for freedom of identity.

However, Ou is responsible for teaching high-school students who are under 18 years old, in this case at the prestigious Taipei First Girls’ High School, where she is said to often spout off about her political leanings in the classroom.

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