Taipei is using school history lessons to pursue independence
for the island, mainland experts on Taiwan studies said
Tuesday.
They said planned changes to the school curricula are aimed at
severing cultural and historical links between the island and the
mainland.
Taiwan's "ministry of education" recently published its draft
guidelines for high school history textbooks, which are expected to
be enacted in early November.
Under the new rules, first-year senior high school students will
study Taiwanese history, from the prehistoric to modern times, in
their first semester. They will study Chinese history from ancient
times to the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in their second
semester.
Second-year senior high school students will spend the school
year studying world history from the Age of Discovery to the modern
era.
The guidelines, however, incorporate Chinese history from the
1500s onwards -- including the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the
"Republic of China" (1912-49) -- into modern world history.
Professor Fan Xizhou with the Taiwan Research Institute of
Xiamen University said the changes have exposed the
pro-independence mentality of the ruling Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP) administration led by Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian.
"This is a fresh attempt by the ideologically-driven Chen and
his administration to dominate local culture and education with
their incorrect, separatist view of history," the professor
said.
"The separatist move is meant to confuse the Taiwanese public
and disguise the historical fact that Taiwanese history is an
indivisible part of Chinese history."
Beijing insists there is only one China, which includes both the
mainland and Taiwan.
Li Jiaquan, a researcher with the Institute of Taiwan Studies
under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Chen has taken a
string of pro-independence moves to give the island a separate
identity from the mainland.
He warned the political conspiracy to distort history will hurt
the island's education system and the studies of local school
children.
The proposed changes to history textbooks have also drawn heavy
criticism from within the island. A number of historians and
academics wrote letters to local media to express their
opposition.
Wu Chan-liang, a history professor at Taiwan University,
criticized the "ministry of education" for basing its guidelines on
"the view of history that advocates Taiwan independence in a
high-profile way."
The move should be considered both an academic disgrace and a
serious moral crime against the Chinese people, said Professor
Tseng Hsiang-duo from Suchow University.
(China Daily September 24, 2003)