Social media moments as news: "Taiwan Mothers Alliance" protests Sunflower history in history textbooks

The transcript is given on Youtube:

The start of the new academic semester has led to the latest textbook controversy. Parents are upset that new freshman high school civics textbooks include passages about the student-led Sunflower Movement of 2014. Parents argue that illegal activities shouldn’t become part of the curriculum, though civics teachers say the movement is now part of history, and shouldn’t be regarded as controversial. Opening Hanlin Book Publisher’s high school freshman civic textbook, one can read a passage about the student Sunflower Movement. This text has angered the Taiwan Mothers’ Alliance who took to Facebook to protest. The group questions how an act of civil disobedience could become teaching material. However, some civics teachers simply don’t agree. Huang Yi-chung Civics Teacher I think these mothers are making too much of a fuss. The student Sunflower Movement took place in 2014 and was a major protest movement which took place in Taiwan. It’s only natural to discuss major social movements in civics classes. Huang says that civics textbooks need to include current events and the more recent the better. However, students are divided over the issue.High School StudentI think this is actually good subject material because it''s a current event. If the Wild Lily Movement and 228 became part of our curriculum, then why can’t this subject?High School StudentI don’t think it’s suitable because this subject is quite controversial.Of six domestic publishers of civics textbooks, so far only Hanlin and Lungteng have included the student Sunflower Movement in such textbooks.

It's cool that two publishers included the Sunflower movement, crucial to understanding the victories of Tsai Ing-wen and the DPP in 2014 and 2016.

The complaint is on Facebook here. It calls the Sunflowers an "illegal violent protest" although the violence was all police inflicted (oh, and some was offered by gangsters as well, but I guess mothers don't mind gangsters). The group posted again on it here, defending its position against the overwhelming abuse of netizens and complaining that their private information had been made public on the net (which sucks). Apple Daily report.

Many changes occurring as a result of the DPP victories as everyone bends with the new wind. We can expect to see more things like this in textbooks -- they were a huge influence under the Chen Administration as well. Under the Ma Administration, the rise of social media and the intensive use of the traditional PTTs helped expand Taiwan consciousness among the young and counteract Ma's pro-China propaganda offensives, as well as coordinate social movements. Mark Harrison, longtime scholar, has a great piece on the effect of social media, both on the election, and the international media.

From the early 2010s in Taiwan, student activists began deploying these communications tools to create new political practices. They undertook a series of protest movements against the Ma government over media ownership, urban development and cross-Straits relations that culminated in the Sunflower Movement of 2014, when several hundred university students occupied the legislative assembly over democratic oversight of the Cross-Straits Trade in Services Agreement. From inside the legislative chamber, they used social media with such sophistication that they were able to circumvent Taiwan’s traditional news media and create an alternative public sphere across Taiwan and globally.

People who deride Taiwanese for putting food pictures on Facebook are forgetting that Facebook is not where the young go to engage in political talk: that's the function of PTTs.
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!

Thinking Taiwan is open for business

With journalist J Michael Cole as its editor in chief, a new platform for Taiwan centered journalism and commentary, Thinking Taiwan, opened officially this week (Facebook, Twitter = @ThinkingTaiwan). The online news and analysis site is funded by DPP Chair and former Presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen's foundation. The awesome Sean Su, whom I've been trying to get to marry my daughter, techie and Taiwan activist in States, is running the platform.

If the opening round of pieces is any indication, this will be a great place to learn about Taiwan. At the moment it hosts remarks on its opening by longtime China hand Jerome Cohen (who managed to slip in a slap at the DPP in his usual style), a piece on the ADIZ over the Senkakus by longtime defense specialist Mark Stokes, whose work I admire very much, a piece by Aphrodite Hung of the Black Island Youth Alliance, a piece from Tsai Yin-wen, a piece on legal norms by longtime scholar Stephane Corcuff, a piece on the global youth movement by longtime scholar Don Rodgers, and other goodies. A veritable treasure trove. Won't be getting much work done today!

Really looking forward to the next couple of years of reading on this site. UPDATE: This piece on Taiwan's presidency by Lin Cho-shui is great. I am sooo not getting any work done today.

With the exception of Cohen this is a very pro-Taiwan crowd of writers, but I have heard that Cole hopes to source work from the pro-KMT side. It sure would be great to see some high quality stuff from the Dark Side. Though Thinking Taiwan wants to be "non-partisan" it will be a huge challenge to fulfill that goal, in part because the pro-Blue side is so difficult to defend rationally and truthfully, as I have noted many times over the years, which means it will be hard to find good pro-Blue writers.

Whatever happens, a website full of intelligent commentary on Taiwan is a huge step forward for the island. Way to go, J Michael!
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!

What Beijing Fears

People in China copying the Taiwanese WantWant media monopoly protest tactic in criticizing the government's closure of a newspaper there.
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums! Delenda est, baby.

Linsanity

As everyone alive in Taiwan knows, Harvard grad and Asian-American of Taiwanese descent Jeremy Lin of the Knicks has become a monster, setting a new record in his first four games. He's been adopted by Taiwanese as a "Taiwanese." CNN argues that Lin has a shot at immortality. Former resident of our fair island Andrew Leonard comments on social media and Lin:

The mainstream media now seems to be adapting its coverage of events on the basis of whether something blows up in social media as much as it does from the perceived newsworthiness of the event itself. It’s startling, but also natural: When you see a fire start to blaze, you run to cover to it. And so Linsanity breeds more Linsanity.

You want highlights? Here’s a distilled package of nine minutes of Lin’s exploits from his 28-point explosion on Monday night. You want a tribute video with an original rap soundtrack on top of some T.I. beats?  Someone is recommending it to you on Facebook or Twitter right now. You want analysis, pro or con? Plug “Jeremy Lin” into Google News and say goodbye to the rest of your day.

Yup! My Facebook feed is overrun with Linsanity. The struggle over Lin is already beginning, he represents a whole box of political footballs. First there is the Taiwan-China thing -- yet Lin is American and his Mandarin is rudimentary (here's one discussion from the pro-Taiwan side). In what sense can he be considered Taiwanese, let alone Chinese? It just shows how "blood" continues to define who is Chinese for so many out here. Then there is the Asian-Americans in sports thing. Lin is also some kind of evangelical Christian, so we have the Tim Tebow thing going too. If Lin's hot hand continues, he might well become a phenomenon greater than Yankee pitcher Wang Chien-ming in Taiwan....

Yet as my man Andrew Kerslake (blog) pointed out on Facebook:

In Taiwan there is a lot of local pride in the success of Jeremy Lin and the realization of his hoop dreams. I can not help but consider that had Lin actually grown up in Taiwan, he may never have realized his dream or even dared to dream it. Under the current educational system he would likely have been discouraged by his teachers and peers. He would likely have been buried in the type of meaningless placement tests and endless cramming that extinguish intellectual curiosity and the passion for learning. He would likely have had 2 hours of PE a week and told that athletics are a waste of time. Taiwan has no reason to be glad handing over Lin. Only in America.

Well said, Drew.
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Daily Links:

• Budget cut for F-16 upgrades but don't worry, the upgrades will take place over several years so sooner or later we will have them all. 
• DPP searching for new chairperson.
• The stubborn US position on beef continues to be a problem. 
• Shu Flies on a collection of art books from the 1950s and 1960s in Taipei.
• History of the Koxinga Temple in Tainan.

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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums! Delenda est, baby.