韓國政府或收回對歷史教科書的控制權

South Korea’s government may take back control over school history textbooks from private publishers next month, the education minister said, as debate over the region’s past heats up ahead of the 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in the second world war.

韓國教育部表示，韓國政府下月可能從民間出版社手中收回對學校歷史教科書的控制權。目前，在人們即將迎來日本二戰戰敗70週年之際，圍繞東亞歷史展開的辯論正在升溫。

“History should be taught in one way to avoid division of the people,” Hwang Woo-yea told the Yonhap nationAl news agency, in remarks published on Wednesday. “At the moment, since there are various history textbooks, there can be confusion.”

在週三發表的講話中，韓國教育部長黃伍延(Hwang Woo-yea)向韓國國家通訊社韓聯社(Yonhap)表示：“歷史教育應避免分裂人民。目前，歷史教科書五花八門，可能存在着（認識上的）混亂。”

Mr Hwang — a trusted associate of President Park Geun-hye, who has given him the additional title of deputy prime minister — said that he would not rule out the reintroduction of a single, state-provided history textbook “if necessary”.

黃伍延說，他不排除這種可能性，即在“必要情況下”，重新推出由政府提供的單一歷史教科書。黃伍延是韓國總統朴槿惠(Park Geun-hye)信賴的副手，朴槿惠還任命他兼任韓國副總理。

The government’s position on the subject will be announced next month, following a 20-month review by the education ministry that was launched in the wake of a controversy over a supposedly misleading textbook.

韓國政府下月將宣佈其在這個問題上的立場。此前，韓國教育部展開了長達20個月的評估。這一評估是在一本據認爲有誤導性的教科書引起爭議後啓動的。

Government control over the school history syllabus was asserted under military rule in 1974, and ended in 2010. Since then, schools have been free to choose between a range of books produced by private publishers, which must first be approved by the education ministry.

韓國政府對學校歷史教學大綱的控制是在1974年軍事統治時期確立的，2010年廢止。此後，學校可在民間出版社編制的各種教科書當中自由選擇，但這些教科書首先必須得到韓國教育部的批准。

The prospect of next month’s final report bringing a return to a single, government-determined history syllabus has sparked strong opposition from liberal opposition politicians, who say it would restrict the diversity of views central to a strong democracy.

下月的最終評估報告有可能使韓國回到由政府確定的單一歷史教學大綱的時代，這一前景引發了自由派反對黨政治人士的強烈反對。這些人士表示，這麼做將對強大民主制所必需的觀點多樣性造成限制。

Yoon Gwan-seok, a member of the opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, said Mr Hwang’s remarks hinted at a “political move” that would divorce South Korea from the standard practice in advanced countries, and leave it with a similar system to North Korea, Russia and Vietnam. Ms Park’s supposed intolerance of dissent has been a favourite theme for her opponents.

韓國反對黨新民主政治聯盟(New Politics Alliance for Democracy)成員Yoon Gwan-seok表示，黃伍延的言論暗示着一種“政治舉措”，將導致韓國背離發達國家的標準做法，使韓國體制向朝鮮、俄羅斯和越南看齊。某些人眼中朴槿惠對異見的不容忍，一直是其反對者喜歡談論的話題。

History education has long been a fraught subject in east Asia — particularly since the 2012 election as Japanese prime minister of Shinzo Abe, who stands accused in Beijing and Seoul of playing down Japan’s aggressive acts during its early-20th century colonial expansion.

在東亞，歷史教育長期以來一直是個爭議不斷的話題，特別是在2012年安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)當選日本首相之後。中國和韓國對安倍淡化日本在20世紀初殖民擴張時期的侵略行爲提出了譴責。

Mr Abe has called for education to avoid “self-torturing views of history”, and it emerged in April that textbook publishers have pared back descriptions of atrocities such as the sexual enslavement of Korean women — a development that prompted Seoul to summon the Japanese ambassador.

安倍一直呼籲教育要避免“自虐史觀”。今年4月有消息稱，日本教科書出版社已刪減了對日本戰爭暴行（比如強徵朝鮮半島慰安婦）的描述——這一事件導致韓國政府召見了日本駐韓大使。