Taiwan Today

Confucius, teachers honored on holiday A series of events to observe Teachers' Day and Confucius' 2,531st birthday anniversary were heralded by a commemorative ceremony in the offices of President Chiang Ching-kuo. A traditional ceremony was held at the Confucius Temple in Taipei to pay respect to the "greatest teacher in Chinese history." The ceremony was presided over by Taipei Mayor Lee Teng-hui. A rally to celebrate the holidays also took place at the Taipei City Hall. Model teachers were cited on that occasion. Minister of Education Chu Hwei-sen hosted a party for outstanding teachers. Over 500 people, including faculties of local colleges and universities, attended. Teachers and their families also enjoyed themselves at a garden party at the Taipei children's park. Almost 20,000 teachers and their families participated in the fete, which was sponsored by the Ministry of Education and the Kuomintang's Department of Youth Affairs. Students at some 30 universities and colleges in northern Taiwan provided food, performances and other services. Minister of Education Chu Hwei-sen called on teachers to establish themselves as models for students and society. Expressing his appreciation for the diligence of teachers in the past year, Minister Chu noted that it is a Chinese tradition to respect teachers and their teachings. However, he said, teachers must act correctly to be loved and respected in the first place. He urged them not to neglect the basic functions of education at a time when the concept of education as an economic investment prevails. As many people overemphasize the economic benefits of education, the general public has the mistaken belief that education is but a means to obtain academic degrees or jobs, he said. He said that the basic functions of education are the promotion of morality, the preservation of cultural heritage and the cultivation of patriotism, and that more effort should be exerted to serve these basic functions. Atlanta citizens honor China's sage Mayor Maynard Jackson of Atlanta, Georgia, urged all Atlanta citizens to join in honoring Confucius and celebrating Teachers' Day. In a proclamation, Jackson said Confucianism, an ethical system adhered to by the Chinese people for more than 2,000 years, teaches Atlantans "that, like the superior person, the superior city is and must be concerned with virtue." He proclaimed "Confucius Day" in Atlanta, a sister city of Taipei. As part of the celebration of Confucius Day, Mayor Jackson and Andrew Shen, director of the ROC CCNAA office in Atlanta, hosted a tea reception at the Martin Luther King Middle School in the afternoon to honor 300 schoolteachers. Jackson, who visited the Republic of China in 1979, said he was deeply impressed with the rapid progress the Chinese nation has been making on the island of Taiwan, under a democratic system, characterized by Confucianism. Shen said at the reception that Confucianism guides the people of the Republic of China in modernizing the country, while preserving the best of an ancient cultural heritage. Legislature passes kindergarten law The Legislative Yuan has approved a law setting standards for kindergartens. The law states that educational programs for children between four and six years old must stress teachings on health, daily life and morality, in close coordination with home education. It has been submitted to President Chiang Ching-kuo for promulgation. Besides public kindergartens, the law also regulates private preschool organizations, and regulates management and teacher quality. Enactment of the law will raise standards in this country's kindergartens, legislator Chang Hsi-che, member of the screening committee, says. Currently, there are more than 1,000 kindergartens on Taiwan. Sinological data center projected The Ministry of Education has completed the plan for organization and functions of the projected Sinological Research Data and Service Center. Wang Chen-hu, director of the National Central Library, was appointed chairman of the supervisory committee for the center. The committee will be composed of 13 to 17 members, each with a two-year term. The center will have both staff employees and advisers. It will be temporarily housed in the Central Library in Taipei. The Ministry of Education will appropriate from its annual budget to finance its operations. Major functions of the center will include the collection of information on Sinological research, and investigation into the collections of Sinological research institutes in other parts of the world. The center will also collect data on Sinology by local experts and scholars, and will index the body of Sinology. The service organization will help people to obtain materials on Sinological studies and assist interested foreigners to conduct research in Taiwan. Mankind's safety linked to ethics Vice President Shieh Tung-min told a conference on ethics that morality is not only the foundation of a nation, but considerably influences the safety and very existence of mankind. Speaking at the Second World Conference of the World-Wide Ethical Society, Shieh said that since material civilization has developed so rapidly, family organization has loosened and social customs have deteriorated. "Therefore," the Vice President said, "we must recover our moral culture" by unifying the moral thought of all nations. "We must turn violence into kindness, recover rationality and realize the ideal of 'the world is for all,' " he said. Over 300 representatives from 26 countries and regions attended the meeting. The opening ceremony was presided over by Yin Tse-kuan, chairman of the society. Yu Chun-hsien, president of the Control Yuan, also spoke at the ceremony. Mayor Lee Teng-hui of Taipei hosted a luncheon for conference participants. Rights leader cites President Reagan Dr. Han Lih-wu, president of the Chinese Association for Human Rights, said he believes that President Ronald Reagan will do a better job than his predecessor in the promotion of human freedom. Speaking at a Rotary Club meeting, Han said that when Abraham Lincoln warned America that it could not survive if it was half free and half in slavery, and when Franklin Roosevelt espoused his famous Four Freedoms, these two great Americans were in reality speaking of the importance of human rights for every man. Han told the Rotarians that human rights is not only a timely issue, but it is a life and death issue for civilization. While the Communist countries are trying their best to suppress human rights, Han said, the anti-Communist nations are promoting them. He characterized Communist repression everywhere as a foot-binding process. Once the feet are bound under Communism, there is no freedom, Han said. Dr. Judd awarded U.S. Freedom Medal Dr. Walter Judd, former U.S. congressman and one of the staunchest supporters of the Republic of China, has been awarded the U.S. Presidential Freedom Medal, the highest civilian honor in the U.S. President Ronald Reagan awarded the medal to Dr. Judd at a ceremony in the White House in recognition of his contribution to American national security. Dr. Judd, who observed his 83rd birthday in September, served as a medical missionary in China during the 1920s and 30s. There he had an opportunity to witness at first hand how the Chinese Communists terrorized the people. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1942 and served in the House for 20 years. He become known for his friendship for Free China and his warnings against appeasing the Communists. As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Judd constantly insisted that the U.S. honor its commitments to the Republic of China and reminded his colleagues that the Chinese Communists were not merely, as many believed, "agrarian reformers." Leaving the House in 1963, Dr. Judd continued his fight against Communism, making speeches and writing articles. He has been chairman of the Committee for a Free China and honorary president of the Sino-American Cultural Society in Washington, and continues to speak for U.S. support for the Republic of China. Former Red coach joins ROC team Wang Pin-yi, 48, a gym coach who fled the China mainland and arrived in Taiwan in October, said he hopes to contribute to coaching young and aspiring athletes in the Republic of China. Wang was vice-chairman of the Yunnan Provincial Sports Federation in Red China. Paid 78 Yuan a month, he was among the higher income earners on the mainland. But he and his family had been exposed to persecution and humiliation, especially during the Red Guard rampage and the "cultural revolution" that began in 1966, Wang said at a press conference arranged by the Free China Relief Association. Aided by a Chinese Communist cadre, Wang fled to Indochina in September, and was brought to Taipei on Oct. 1 with the help of FCRA. Wang said he wants to use his 20 years coaching experience to train young athletes in the Republic of China. He said that Taiwan probably has a different training system, but he is willing and eager to learn. Wang said amateurism is a farce on the mainland and that gymnasts on the mainland undergo year-round training. In Yunnan, a typical day for a gymnast begins at 6 a.m. He gets two hours of exercise, eats his breakfast at 8 a.m. and works out from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, then has lunch and a two-hour break. The afternoon session begins at 3 p.m. and ends at 6 p.m., with supper at 7 p.m., and a review of the day's work at 8 p.m. Those who attend middle school get academic lessons only two mornings a week. Gymnasts, he said, are better fed than most people and draw a monthly salary of 43 to 49 Yuan (US$1 is worth about 1.8 Yuan). The Chinese Communists are now scouting for promising athletes from among kindergarten children, he said. These children, aged 5 or 6, get one hour exercise in the morning before attending classes. The whole afternoon is then devoted to exercise and the evening to school lessons. Small children are all willing to undergo this arduous training because they are given a monthly food allowance of 30 Yuan, he said. Chou En-lai's doctor joins Taichung clinic Dr. Yang Ching-chiang, a mainland Chinese urologist who attended Chou En-lai during the latter's last days of sickness, has resumed his medical practice here at the Central Clinic in Taichung. Dr. Yang is now head of the urological department of the hospital. Born on Dec. 27, 1939, at Wenchow in Chekiang in a doctor's family, he attended the Shanghai Second Medical College where he graduated in 1961. He was assigned to the Shanghai First People's Hospital (which used to be known as St. John's University Hospital) as a urologist. On Nov. 16, 1979, Dr. Yang went to Hongkong and proceeded to New York to join his grandmother. From the United States, he managed to get his wife and a three-year-old daughter out of the mainland. In early October last year, Dr. Yang and his family decided to settle in Taiwan. He passed government qualifying examinations before he resumed practice. Cornea law urged; eye donation cited Dr. Leslie Simon of South Africa has advised the government that enactment of a law on transplantation of corneas could enable about 33,000 blind persons here to see again within five years. Dr. Simon, a pioneer in promoting laws regulating cornea transplants in South Africa, paid a visit here at the invitation of the Republic of China's Lions International. He discussed a transplant law with Hsu Tse-chiu, director general of the National Health Administration, and legislator Wu Chi-fu. Since the law was enacted in South Africa two years ago, more than 1,400 blind persons have benefited, Dr. Simon said. Director General Hsu, meanwhile, presented a medal to Wei Wei-chieh, an overseas Chinese entrepreneur from Malaysia, to thank him for his services to the blind. Wei has arranged with the director of the Sri Lanka International Eye Bank to donate to the Republic of China 200 eyes a year, Director Hsu said. The move represents Sri Lanka's special friendship for the people of this country, Wei said. Since Sri Lanka set up the eye bank in May 1965, more than 9,000 eyes have been donated to some 40 countries around the globe, while 203 have been sent here. National security has priority—Sun Premier Sun Yun-suan said the government allows freedom in the reporting of news so long as the fundamental interests of the Republic of China are not affected. He discussed the issue at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan. This freedom is honored by the government in principle, but is limited when "sensitive issues" are involved, Premier Sun said, referring to affairs of military and diplomatic importance, as well as to the struggle against the Chinese Communists. The Premier emphasized the need for care in handling sensitive news reports affecting the status of this nation. He pointed out that the government cannot make a number of things public, and "not without reason." Recalling an event four years ago when he was economics minister, Premier Sun said that a vice minister was about to leave for an important international meeting in Europe when a reporter front-paged the news. Immediately, a pro-Peiping newspaper in Hongkong got hold of the story. The final result was that this vice minister was not able to be present at the meeting, he added. The government will continue to exercise vigilance on sensitive news, knowing that the Chinese Communist news organs tend to distort facts, Premier Sun said. The Premier made the comments at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan. Copyright revision protects authors A revised copyright law will give better protection to authors by widening the scope of covered works and by raising the penalty on pirates. The revision proposes to offer protection to authors as soon as their works are made public. The current law protects only those works that have first been registered. Under the revised law, the author will still have to register his copyright before he can file proceedings against any "pirate." More types of works are included in the copyright protection revision. At present, the protection encompasses written works, including originals and translations, works of art, music scores, recorded language lessons, photographs and movies. The protection offered includes only the ban on reproduction, and public performance without permission. The revision will enlarge the scope of protection to computer programs, tapes, maps, designs, sculptures, video tapes and stage shows. The protection will also be extended to the ban on performance in public broadcast, public exhibition and revisions on the originals. Taipei admission sets precedent The Taipei municipal government for the first time has admitted liability for failure to take proper care of public facilities—which caused personal injury to Wang Ming-fan, a motorcycle driver. This is the first case to result in a decision for compensation of a claimant under the Government Tort Liability Law (State Compensation) in Taipei since it was promulgated on July 1. However, members on the compensation committee indicated that the claimant was responsible for contributory negligence. Living in the neighborhood, he should have noticed the unguarded open pit in the street, the committee said, and should have been more alert to the risks there. The committee decided to take further steps as a result of the first compensation claim case: —Set up an investigatory team to find out the facts and try to recover from the Chung Hsin Waterworks, which dug the hole, the amount the city government is to compensate the claimant. —Negotiate with the claimant for settlement of the claim. —Assure monitoring of the work progress of street maintenance crews following the issuance of permits to contractors to do road repairs. Exhibit features rare editions A special magazine exhibition to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the 1911 Wuchang Uprising was held at the National Central Library in Taipei. Over 1,000 kinds of periodicals were on display during the nine-day exhibition. In addition to rare editions of periodicals published between 1911 and 1949, the show also featured popular local periodicals, magazines published in Chinese and circulated abroad, college publications, government-sponsored publications and former recipients of the National Golden Tripod Literary Award. The exhibition was sponsored by the Magazine Publishers Association of the Republic of China with assistance from the Government Information Office, the Department of Social Education of the Ministry of Education, the Department of Party History of the Central Committee of the Kuomintang and the various local information offices throughout the island. ROC baseball film wins Turin prize "The Barefoot Little League," a ten-minute documentary film about the history of the development of Little League baseball in the Republic of China, won a citation and prize at the 37th International Festival of Sport Films in Turin, northern Italy. "The Barefoot Little League," which traces the ROC Little League baseball boom to its beginnings in the days of the "Red Leaf" team in Taitung, was produced by Kwang Hwa Film Syndicate and presented to the festival by the ROC National Olympic Committee. The film was cited for its "excellent presentation of the role the schools have been playing in promoting sports." Hsieh Hsin-ping, first secretary of the ROC Embassy to the Vatican, received the prize on behalf of the ROC Olympic Committee at an awards ceremony held at Turin's New Opera Theatre. Han Dynasty newest TV serial offering The China Television Company is presenting a new grand-style historical series, "The Majesty of the Great Han Dynasty." The series tells the story of Emperor Wu (157-87 B.C.), whose reign marked the culmination of the Han Dynasty. This is the second major historical series presented by CTV. The first was "The Warring States." According to Mei Chang-ling, president of CTV, the series faithfully presents the history and costumes of the Han Dynasty. It is expected to be nominated for a Golden Bell Award next year, he said. Mei said CTV is bringing the series out at this time to commemorate the 70th year of the founding of the Republic of China. Merchants seek ancestral relics Antique merchants frequently approach local aborigines to bid for their ancestral relics, the Taitung County Social Education Center said. The center has urged the younger generation not to sell objects handed down by their forebears and to safeguard their cultural heritage. A spokesman for the center noted there are six aboriginal tribes (the Ami, Pinan, Yami, Lukai, Peiwan and Tsou) in Taitung County, and that their cultures all differ. Owing to the high prices set by antique merchants, many tribal families do not resist the temptation to sell. As a result many old artifacts have been sold and taken abroad, the spokesman added. One person in 10 is surnamed Chen There are 1,694 surnames on Taiwan, with the Chens accounting for more than one tenth of the 18 million population Lins place second, numbering 1.38 million. The Chen and Lin clans make up more than one sixth of the entire population of Taiwan. Each clan used to have a clan hall, says Lin Heng-tao, director of the Provincial Historical Research Commission. Similar to those found on the Chinese mainland before the Communist takeover, each clan hall had its own particular title. The title was usually derived from the place name where a clan originated. For instance, the Chens call their clan hall by the title Ying Chuan, and the Lins, Hsi Ho. These place names date back to the 3rd century B.C. Lin noted that the existence of the clan hall and its use of traditional designations evidence unity of basic Taiwan culture with that of the mainland. He said it was an eloquent rebuttal against the claim that "Taiwanese are not Chinese," made by the Chinese Communists.