Hsinchu school apologizes amid outrage over students' Nazi consumes
2016/12/24 18:16:45
Taipei, Dec. 24 (CNA) A high school in Hsinchu City apologized Saturday after its students dressed in costumes resembling Nazi uniforms and brandished swastika banners in a cosplay party held at the school a day earlier, triggering controversy on the Internet and drawing condemnation from Israel's representative office in Taipei.
The Hsinchu Kuang-Fu High School admitted that it failed to carefully review the students' plans of their costumes for the party, but claimed that it did not mean it supports the violence committed by the Nazis.
Nazi Germany refers to the period in German history from 1933 to 1945 when the country was under the control of Adolf Hitler, who masterminded the Holocaust, one of the most inglorious periods of modern history.
The private school said it assumed responsibility for the students' improper behavior, adding that it will improve its education and help its students to gain a broader global view.
It apologized to the public for the controversy over the Nazi costumes worn by its students.
The school's apology came after photos of some students of a class at the school dressed in costumes that looked like Nazi uniforms, wielding swastika flags and displaying Nazi tanks made of paper cartons at a cosplay event were posted on the Internet, triggering widespread criticism.
The Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, which represents Israel's interests in Taiwan in the absence of bilateral diplomatic ties, issued a statement condemning the acts by the students.
"It is deplorable and shocking" that only seven decades after the world witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust, a high school in Taiwan supports "such an outrageous action," said Asher Yarden, Israel's representative to Taiwan.
Schools should educate for tolerance and understanding among people, he said.
"We strongly condemn this tasteless occurrence and call on the Taiwanese authorities, at all levels, to initiate educational programs which would introduce the meaning of the Holocaust and teach its history and universal meaning," he said. "Israel would support such endeavors as may be necessary."
In response to the incident, Taiwan's Ministry of Education said it has formed a task force that will visit the school to look into the incident and assist in improving its educational programs.
Education Minister Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) also issued an apology for the incident, urging all schools in Taiwan to learn a lesson from the incident.
The ministry said it will impose punishments on the school for its "administrative negligence of duty" and that it will cut its subsidies for the private school.
(By Lu Kang-chun, Chen Chih-chung and Elaine Hou)
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