TAIWAN MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 002747

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/TC, EAP/PD, INR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/24/2015
TAGS: KPAO TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL
REFORM IN TAIWAN

Classified By: DIRECTOR DOUGLAS H. PAAL, REASONS 1.4 (B/D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: THE CURRENT MINISTER OF EDUCATION TU
SHENG-CHENG IS CURRENTLY VISITING THE U.S. AND PLANS TO MEET
THE U.S. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION NEXT WEEK. FOLLOWING IS A
DESCRIPTION OF THIS CONTROVERSIAL MINISTER AND SOME OF THE
DIFFICULT ISSUES HE HAS FACED, INCLUDING A PROGRAM OF
EDUCATIONAL REFORMS AND INITIATIVES THAT HAD BEEN PASSED DOWN
BY HIS PREDECESSORS IN THE DEMOCRATIC PROGRESSIVE PARTY
(DPP). UNIVERSALLY REGARDED AS A BRILLIANT SCHOLAR, AND WITH
SOLID SUPPORT IN THE LEGISLATIVE YUAN, MINISTER TU HAS
NEVERTHELESS RECEIVED HARSH CRITICISM FOR THE UNCERTAIN
FUTURE OF TAIWAN'S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. END SUMMARY.

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TU SHENG-CHENG,S EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
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2. (U) TU HAS BEEN IN OFFICE SINCE 2004, WHEN PRESIDENT CHEN
SHUI-BIAN,S SECOND TERM BEGAN. HE COMES FROM A
DISTINGUISHED EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND AND HAS HELD KEY
POSITIONS IN SEVERAL OF TAIWAN,S TOP ACADEMIC AND SCHOLARLY
INSTITUTIONS. TU STUDIED AT THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMIC AND
POLITICAL SCIENCES AND HOLDS A MASTERS DEGREE IN HISTORY FROM
NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY. FROM 1984 UNTIL PRESENT HE HAS
BEEN A RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE INSTITUTE OF HISTORY AND
PHILOLOGY AT ACADEMIA SINICA, TAIWAN,S LEADING ACADEMIC AND
RESEARCH INSTITUTION. PRIOR TO JOINING ACADEMIA SINICA, TU
WAS A VISITING SCHOLAR AT THE HARVARD-YENCHING INSTITUTE FROM
1983 TO 1984. AFTER RETURNING TO TAIWAN TU ALSO SERVED AS
DIRECTOR OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF HISTORY AT NATIONAL
TSING-HUA UNIVERSITY FROM 1986 TO 1987 AND THEN SERVED AS

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CHAIRMAN OF THE ANTHROPOLOGY GROUP IN TAIWAN FROM 1987 TO

1993. TU SERVED AS A MEMBER OF THE ACADEMIC REVIEWAL AND
EVALUATION GROUP OF THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION FROM 1989 TO

1992. IN 1992 TU RETURNED TO THE UK AS A VISITING SCHOLAR AT
THE SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF LONDON. HE THEN RETURNED TO TAIWAN,S MINISTRY OF
EDUCATION AND BECAME AN ACADEMIC ADVISOR TO THE MINISTRY FROM
1994 TO 1995. IN 1995, TU BECAME THE DIRECTOR OF THE
INSTITUTE OF HISTORY AND PHILOLOGY AT ACADEMIA SINICA, AND
STAYED IN THIS POSITION FROM 1995 TO 2000. FOLLOWING HIS
ASSIGNMENT TO ACADEMIA SINICA HE WAS NAMED DIRECTOR OF THE
NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM AND SERVED THERE FROM 2000 TO 2004.

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EDUCATIONAL REFORM POLICY: GOALS OF THE PAST
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3. (U) TAIWAN HAS UNDERGONE DRAMATIC EDUCATIONAL REFORMS
OVER THE PAST 13 TO 14 YEARS. IN 1991 FORMER TAIWAN PRESIDENT
LEE TENG-HUI FIRST INITIATED A REVIEW OF PROGRAMS TO REFORM
THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA, A SYSTEM
INSTALLED IN TAIWAN BY THE KUOMINTANG (KMT) FOLLOWING THE
POST-1949 EXODUS. THE ORIGINAL INTENT OF THE LEE
ADMINISTRATION WAS TO STREAMLINE THE EDUCATION SYSTEM FOR
TAIWAN BY MINIMIZING THE AMOUNT OF ROTE MEMORIZATION REQUIRED
BY STUDENTS, ESSENTIALLY MAKING ELEMENTARY EDUCATION SIMPLER
AND MORE COMPARABLE TO THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF THE UNITED
STATES. ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED WITH TAIWAN,S
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION WAS THE AMOUNT OF TIME NEEDED FOR
STUDENTS TO STUDY IN ORDER TO BE COMPETITIVE FOR HIGHER
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES. THE HIGH LEVEL OF COMPETITION
STILL CREATES A NEED FOR STUDENTS TO DEVOTE TIME OUTSIDE OF
THE CLASSROOM TO ATTEND &CRAM8 SCHOOL CLASSES, WHICH IN
TURN CREATES AN ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL BURDEN, PARTICULARLY FOR
PARENTS OF LOWER INCOMES. CRITICS SAY THAT TAIWAN,S CURRENT
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION SYSTEM ESSENTIALLY PUTS CHILDREN WHO
COME FROM WEAKER ECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS AT A DISADVANTAGE. THE
LEE INITIATIVE ALSO CALLED FOR AN INCREASED LEVEL OF
COMPETITIVENESS IN TAIWAN'S HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM, WHICH
WOULD REQUIRE GREATER ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO TOP RESEARCH
INSTITUTIONS AND LABORATORIES THROUGHOUT THE ISLAND.

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EDUCATION REFORM POLICY RESULTS AND SHORTCOMINGS
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4. (C) INSTEAD OF PRODUCING MORE COMPETITIVE STUDENTS,
OBSERVERS AGREE THAT THE OVERALL QUALITY OF GRADUATES FROM
TAIWANESE UNIVERSITIES OR COLLEGES HAS DROPPED NOTICEABLY IN
RECENT YEARS. THIS IS LARGELY IN RESPONSE TO THE INCREASING
NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. SEVERAL SCHOOLS
OF THOUGHT CONTEND THAT THE CREATION OF NEW UNIVERSITIES AND
COLLEGES AND DISTRIBUTION OF LIMITED RESOURCES TO THEM
THROUGHOUT TAIWAN SIMPLY DILUTES OVERALL COMPETITIVENESS OF
TAIWANESE GRADUATING CLASSES, THUS MAKING IT DIFFICULT FOR
COMPANIES TO FIND COMPETENT EMPLOYEES. SOME SUGGEST THAT A
CONSOLIDATION OF UNIVERSITIES IS NECESSARY TO MAKE THE
ADMISSIONS PROCESS MORE COMPETITIVE. IN ADDITION, BY HAVING
FEWER UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES TO FUND, THE CENTRAL
GOVERNMENT WOULD BE ABLE TO DEDICATE MORE FUNDING TO
PRESTIGIOUS UNIVERSITIES FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING HIGH
QUALITY RESEARCH FACILITIES AND LABS THAT ARE MORE COMPARABLE
TO MANY OF THE HIGH RANKING INSTITUTIONS THROUGHOUT THE
WORLD.


5. (C) EDUCATION CURRICULUM HAS BECOME A POLARIZED ISSUE
FOR POLITICIANS. THE CURRENT RULING PARTY, UNDER MINISTER OF
EDUCATION TU, HAS STRIVEN TO REVISE THE HISTORY TEXTBOOKS TO
A MORE TAIWAN-ORIENTED EMPHASIS, WHEREAS, IN THE PAST THE
HISTORY TEXTBOOKS WERE DOMINATED BY CHINESE HISTORY IMPORTED
BY THE KMT FROM THE MAINLAND. THE REVISIONS HAVE CREATED
MIXED EMOTIONS IN TAIWANESE SOCIETY. STUDENTS OF PARENTS THAT
VOTE PREDOMINANTLY KMT AND HAVE A MORE RECENT HISTORY OF
IMMIGRATION FROM THE MAINLAND FEEL A SENSE OF ANIMOSITY IN
SOCIETY. THESE PARENTS OFTEN WONDER WHAT THE RELEVANCE OF THE
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IS TO THE EDUCATION OF THEIR CHILDREN.
LIKEWISE, STUDENTS OF PARENTS SYMPATHETIC TO THE DPP ARE MORE
LIKELY TO SIDE WITH THE EDUCATIONAL REFORMS. THESE REFORMS
CAN BE PERCEIVED AS AN INDIGENIZATION OF THE TAIWANESE
EDUCATION SYSTEM. INSTEAD OF SIMPLIFYING THE SYSTEM, AS
INTENDED, STUDENTS ARE FINDING INCREASING AMOUNTS OF
CURRICULUM TO STUDY AND MEMORIZE TO PREPARE FOR ENTRANCE
EXAMINATIONS. THE RULING PARTY HAS AND WILL CONTINUE TO
INFLUENCE THE REVISION PROCESS OF TEXTBOOKS TO INFLUENCE
FUTURE VOTERS AND YOUNG CITIZENS. THIS LACK OF STABILITY
MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR TAIWANESE YOUTH TO FIND DIRECTION AND
PREDICTABILITY THROUGH EDUCATION, AS IT APPEARS TO BE VAGUELY
DEFINED AND IN A STATE OF CONSTANT REVISION.

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MINISTER TU AND EDUCATIONAL REFORM
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6. (C) THE POSITION OF MINISTER OF EDUCATION IN TAIWAN
ATTRACTS A VAST AMOUNT OF PRESSURE FROM ALL SIDES OF TAIWAN
SOCIETY. THE REFORMS FOR WHICH MINISTER TU IS CURRENTLY BEING
CRITICIZED WERE FIRST INTRODUCED BY THE CHEN ADMINISTRATION'S
FIRST MINISTER OF EDUCATION, OVID TZENG. HOWEVER, MANY OF THE
POLICIES WERE NOT FULLY OR EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTED AND NEED
TO BE RESOLVED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO SALVAGE THE FUTURE OF
TAIWANESE EDUCATION. TU HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF BEING A BAD
ADMINISTRATOR, FOR MAKING DECISIONS BASED ON POLITICS RATHER
THAN EDUCATIONAL PRIORITIES, AND FOR "OVER-INDIGENIZING" THE
CURRICULUM. THE CRITICISM COMES FROM ALL CORNERS: PEOPLE
WITH RECENT CHINESE ANCESTRY OPPOSE TU FOR INTRODUCING TOO
MUCH LOCALIZATION TO THE CURRICULUM, WHILE THOSE OF LOCAL
DESCENT EQUALLY COMPLAIN THAT HE HAS BROADENED AND THEREFORE
COMPLICATED THE CURRICULUM. EVERYONE SEEMS UNHAPPY WITH THE
STATE OF CONSTANT FLUX AND UNPREDICTABILITY.


7. (C) COMMENT: LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE IN TAIWAN, THE ISSUE OF
REFORM OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM HAS BECOME HIGHLY
POLITICIZED. WHILE MINISTER TU IS INARGUABLY A CONTROVERSIAL
MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND HAS CLEARLY NOT MANAGED THE REFORM
PROCESS TO EVERYONE'S SATISFACTION, THE FACT IS THAT HIS IS A
PORTFOLIO THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE SUBJECT OF MUCH CRITICISM.
WHILE MANY OF TU'S PREDECESSOR'S WERE PREMATURELY REMOVED
FROM THEIR POSITIONS, TU MAINTAINS STRONG SUPPORT FROM HIS
PARTY AND THERE IS NO SERIOUS TALK OF HIS REMOVAL. THE
CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING HIM AND EDUCATION REFORM IN TAIWAN
MAY BE TAKEN AS A COMMENT ON THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION IN
THIS SOCIETY AND THE PUBLIC'S RECOGNITION THAT SOMETHING MUST
BE DONE. END COMMENT.
PAAL