Court throws out appeal to halt curriculum changes
By Alison Hsiao and Loa Iok-sin / Staff reporters
The High Administrative Court yesterday rejected an appeal for an injunction to prevent the Ministry of Education from going ahead with its adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines that are set to take effect today.
The court said that the complaints cited in the appeal should be dealt with in accordance with the ministry’s regulations, instead of in court.
A lawyer, surnamed Chen (陳), whose son is a senior-high school student, filed the legal challenge to block the ministry from proceeding with the transition to new textbooks under the guidelines.
Saying he does not accept the court’s legal interpretation, Chen vowed to file an appeal.
Separately, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday called on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to accept its proposal to hold an extraordinary legislative session to discuss the issue.
“We submitted the petition for an extraordinary session to the Legislative Yuan’s administrative office at 10am, and I would urge Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) to immediately call a cross-party negotiation and an extraordinary session,” DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said. “The KMT should not try to block the proposal.”
The caucus also demanded that Minister of Education Wu Se-hua (吳思華) step down.
DPP Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said that different political parties should work together to solve the problem for students.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to tell these young students that you are the future of the nation, so please stay calm, cherish your lives and stay safe,” he said. “We do not want to see a society polarized by these controversies; instead, we should face them together and solve them together. I believe that is what most people would want to see.”
In response to the DPP’s call, which also has the support of the Taiwan Solidarity Union, KMT caucus deputy whip Liao Kuo-tung (廖國棟) said that the curriculum controversy should not be the only issue on the agenda if the legislature is to hold a special session.
Quoting KMT caucus whip Lai Shih-bao (賴士葆), Liao said the KMT caucus is not against calling such a session, but other issues, such as organizational restructuring, a bill on establishing an all-volunteer military and revisions to the restrictions on the duration of stay for foreign workers, should also be discussed.
The KMT caucus would agree to call an extraordinary session only if the three bills are also included, Liao added.
He also questioned the DPP’s motive, saying the DPP’s aim is to respond to and manipulate students, as curriculum issues are under the executive branch’s jurisdiction and should be handled by the education ministry.
The parties did hold a cross-caucus negotiation yesterday afternoon, but only agreed on a resolution to hold talks on Tuesday to decide whether an extraordinary session should be called.
Wang said during the meeting — which Minister Wu also attended — that the executive branch was asked to consider the possibility of temporarily suspending the implementation of the new curriculum guidelines.
According to DPP Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬), KMT lawmakers, Wu Se-hwa and Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) insisted during the negotiations that since the curriculum guidelines had been passed and textbooks had already been chosen, the rollout could not be halted.
Lai said after the meeting that the KMT caucus does not have the right to decide whether Wu Se-hwa should stay on as minister and that there would be no need to call an extraordinary session if the ministry and lawmakers could reach a consensus on the curriculum issue.
If not, the KMT caucus meeting, scheduled for Monday, would decide whether the party should agree to call an extraordinary session, he added.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan and CNA
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