Education Minister Pan Wen-chung says that Taiwan will go ahead with plans to drop changes that were made to the nation-wide school curriculum. Pan was responding to questions at the legislature’s education committee on Monday.
The administration of President Ma Ying-jeou, who stepped down earlier this month, made adjustments to the curriculum that were more in line with the viewpoint of China. However, the current administration led by President Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) opposes the adjustments. The DPP-majority legislature has since voted to have the changes dropped.
The move to drop the changes has sparked a response from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office. A spokesman for the agency, Ma Xiaoguang said that the DPP administration would have to bear the consequences of dropping the changes.
At the legislature on Monday, Lawmaker Huang Kuo-shu spoke out against what he called “interference” from China. He asked the Education Minister Pan Wen-chung whether his ministry would back down on the move to drop the changes.
But Pan said the ministry would go ahead as planned.
“We are the Republic of China. When it comes to adjusting the curriculum, we do it with professionalism, order, and in accordance with the law," said Pan.
The Republic of China is the official name of Taiwan’s government.