Taiwan's 'Understanding the China Threat' textbooks are expected to be gradually implemented starting from the new semester in September. Mainland China's Taiwan Affairs Office criticized the move as 'the perverse act of forgetting one's roots,' and further stated that behaviors and personnel in the education sector that 'distort and tamper with the fact that Taiwan is a part of China' will be punished.
According to United Daily News, in response to national security threats from mainland China, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te instructed the Ministry of Education and other departments in April to fully deepen education for young students on understanding mainland China. The Ministry of Education said in early July that it has completed 13 supplementary texts, including topics such as understanding mainland China, national identity, and media literacy. These materials are currently being revised based on feedback and will soon go through approval procedures, with gradual implementation expected in the new school year starting this September.
At a regular press conference on the 30th, mainland China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua criticized Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government for stubbornly adhering to the separatist 'Taiwan independence' position, vigorously pushing for 'de-Sinicization,' disregarding history, and distorting facts. He said they 'attempt to use Taiwan independence textbooks to sever the historical and cultural ties across the strait, causing confusion in historical memory and distortion of national identity among the younger generation in Taiwan.'
Chen Binhua stated that 'such perverse acts of forgetting one's roots' will inevitably be firmly opposed and rejected by people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. He also said that acts and personnel taking advantage of their positions to 'grossly distort and tamper with the fact that Taiwan is a part of China' in the education field will definitely be punished.