In order collect public opinions on the new history course plan for high schools, the Ministry of Education recently scheduled four public hearings. But the first one in Taipei had already drawn heated debates over the historical position of Taiwan from groups of conflicting political backgrounds.

Less than 15 minutes into the first of four Ministry of Education-sponsored history syllabus hearings, pro-reunification groups clashed with pro-independence groups outside the venue.

The Alliance for the Reunification of China wants post-Zheng Chenggong era history included in the new high school history syllabus on the basis that Taiwan belonged to China.

Pro-independence groups, meanwhile, claim that Taiwan has not belonged to China in centuries and that the ratio of Chinese history classes should not be increased from one semester to 1.5 semesters.

While these intellectual and content ratio controversies rage, high school teachers say that they are most concerned about the structure of history classes.

According to Hukou High School teacher Chen Wen-ko, Chinese history textbooks currently only cover social, economic, and cultural history.

As a result, students in Taiwan lack any knowledge of political history. For the time being, it appears that it may take a while for a consensus on these issues to be reached.