According to Apple Daily, Ming Pao, ETTV, BOC, FTV and TVBS, a junior high school in Taipei city administered a commercially published history examination that contained some controversial items. This has caused some parents to complain to the media.
Example: "Taiwan got a bad deal when the occupation ended. Many people died from starvation, the price of goods soared and the mainlanders grew fatter day by day (‘äà sŒõ•œ�^‹håk�C‰ìŽ€“¯–Eˆê‘å‘��C•¨™Jˆê“úˆê“ú‹M�Cˆ¢ŽRˆê“úˆê“ú”ì)." What is this report about? Answer: 2/28
Example: "Prior to the 2/28 incident, there were popular sayings among the people such as 'The old governor leaves and a new governor comes,' 'The wolf leaves and the tiger comes,' 'We leave hell in order to jump into the fire.' Whom is the old governor, wolf and hell referring to?" Answer: Japan
But the most controversial question is this contemporary one:
"During the difficult process of democratization in Taiwan, which president made no contribution whatsoever (’N›”‘äà s–¯Žå‰»Ÿ|–³�và Ù?)?"
A. Chiang Kai-shek
B. Chiang Ching-kuo
C. Lee Teng-hui
D. Chen Shui-bian.
Out of 36 students in class, 30 (=83%) picked Chen Shui-bian as the answer. According to one student, "Apart from being elected as president, I cannot think of any other contribution of his." Another student picked Lee Teng-hui because in his impression, Lee Teng-hui is just an old guy who often spoke in Minnan dialect and drew a high salary.
According to the scoring instructions, the correct answer is "Chiang Kai-shek" and all those students who picked Chen Shui-bian got zero on this item. Teachers and educators are complaining that such questions are controversial (that is, one and only one answer is right and the others are wrong for scoring purposes). While this teacher was merely using a commercially available examination, he/she should have exercised professional judgment to avoid using such questions.
What about the adults? According to the Apple Daily automated telephone poll of 208 respondents (note: small sample and unreliable methodology), the question "During the democratization of Taiwan, which president can be said to have made no contribution?"
- 68% Chen Shuibian
- 21% Chiang Kai-shek
- 7% Lee Teng-hui
- 2% Chiang Ching-kuo
Apple Daily also has KMT Ma Ying-jeou's reaction: "It is unfair to say that President Chen has made no contribution towards democracy, because the policies that he proposes when he first assumed office was popular with the people ... I would have picked 0, or none of the above. All four presidents made contributions!"
Therein lies the problem with this exam question. It is not "Which president made the least contribution towards the democratization of Taiwan?" which is a relative question. Instead, it is an absolute question: "Which president made no contribution whatsoever towards the democratization of Taiwan?" and since the specificed issue is the process of democratization (e.g. universal suffrage, freedom of speech and press, etc), popular policies are not irrevelant unless they pertain to that process.
http://www.appledaily.com.tw/AppleNews/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Article&NewsType=twapple&Loc=TP&showdate=20060416&Sec_ID=5&Art_ID=2542437