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Taiwan elections: controversy over cuts to classical Chinese content heats up presidential race
- The reduction of ancient literature has become a hot topic ahead of the January 13 polls
- While DPP front-runner William Lai says move is not political, his rivals have called it part of a government ‘de-sinicisation’ campaign
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Lawrence Chungin Taipei
The controversy over the reduction of classical Chinese content in Taiwan’s high school curriculum has come back to life with candidates in the island’s presidential race debating whether the move was politically motivated.
With the January 13 elections looming, presidential front-runner William Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said the curriculum change had nothing to do with politics. However, his two opposition rivals say it is part of a government “de-sinicisation” effort aimed at promoting the Taiwanese identity.
Observers said it was not the curriculum change, but the growing trend of people – especially the younger generation – identifying as Taiwanese only that had made it inevitable for residents to distance themselves from the mainland.
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Under guidelines introduced in 2019, education authorities removed half of the 30 classical Chinese literary works compulsory for students to study.
During a press conference held by a group of education workers on December 4 to review the government’s education policies, Alice Ou, who teaches at the Taipei First Girls’ High School, described the decision as “shameless”.
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“All the Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Analects and Mencius were axed,” she said, referring to the Four Books, a series of philosophical writings and doctrines associated with the ancient Chinese sage Confucius.
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