StarCraft_ZT
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- May 14, 2013
- Messages
- 1,193
- Reaction score
- 2
- Country
- Location
A teacher at a privately-funded kindergarten in Shanghai has been suspended from work after she played a Japanese military song to accompany a children's performance at a graduation ceremony.
According to an apology issued on Thursday night by Xia Miao, head of Aurora Foreign Language Kindergarten, the teacher picked the tune to accompany the drum performance on June 27 but did not realize it is a Japanese military song as it has no lyrics.
The "Warship March," which the teacher chose, was composed in 1897 and is the official march of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Local education authorities kicked off the investigation in this case after parents posted a video of the performance online on Wednesday.
After verifying the facts with the kindergarten, Zhabei District Education Bureau demanded the kindergarten apologize to the public and reflect on the mistake. The bureau said it would step up its efforts of patriotic education.
When reached by the Global Times, an office staff member from Aurora Foreign Language Kindergarten refused to reveal more details.
Xu Ying, a Shanghai-based lawyer said that there's no law forbidding the playing of Japanese military songs in China. But she added it's simply a widely-accepted practice. "The education authorities don't have to find a legal explanation but can just follow their internal rules to impose the punishment."
Many Net users viewed the mistake as "intolerable," saying it would harm children.
But Ge Mingming, deputy chairman of Shanghai Folk Artists Association, said in Sina Weibo that the incident had been politicized, adding that whether a nation is mature or not depends on its citizens' reactions to such events.
In 2005, a Guangzhou-based kindergarten also apologized for using the "Warship March" to accompany children's morning exercises.
Teacher suspended over Japanese tune - Global Times
Shanghai kindergarten apologizes for Japanese military music show - Global Times
According to an apology issued on Thursday night by Xia Miao, head of Aurora Foreign Language Kindergarten, the teacher picked the tune to accompany the drum performance on June 27 but did not realize it is a Japanese military song as it has no lyrics.
The "Warship March," which the teacher chose, was composed in 1897 and is the official march of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Local education authorities kicked off the investigation in this case after parents posted a video of the performance online on Wednesday.
After verifying the facts with the kindergarten, Zhabei District Education Bureau demanded the kindergarten apologize to the public and reflect on the mistake. The bureau said it would step up its efforts of patriotic education.
When reached by the Global Times, an office staff member from Aurora Foreign Language Kindergarten refused to reveal more details.
Xu Ying, a Shanghai-based lawyer said that there's no law forbidding the playing of Japanese military songs in China. But she added it's simply a widely-accepted practice. "The education authorities don't have to find a legal explanation but can just follow their internal rules to impose the punishment."
Many Net users viewed the mistake as "intolerable," saying it would harm children.
But Ge Mingming, deputy chairman of Shanghai Folk Artists Association, said in Sina Weibo that the incident had been politicized, adding that whether a nation is mature or not depends on its citizens' reactions to such events.
In 2005, a Guangzhou-based kindergarten also apologized for using the "Warship March" to accompany children's morning exercises.
Teacher suspended over Japanese tune - Global Times
Shanghai kindergarten apologizes for Japanese military music show - Global Times