Establish the Yang Chengxun Memorial Classroom: Three Calls for Safer Schools

Phase One: Invitation to Become a Co-initiator

Expressions of interest for the first phase close on 28 September 2026. This phase invites education organisations, teachers’ organisations, experts and scholars, and representatives of parents’ organisations. The petition is not yet open to the general public.

This is VST’s English translation of the Chinese petition. The linked Google Form, PDF and Word document are currently in Chinese.

To education organisations, teachers’ organisations, experts and scholars, and representatives of parents’ organisations who care about school safety:

We are Yang Chengxun’s parents. Chengxun was the student responsible for helping maintain order in Class 904, in the junior high division of Qingshui High School in New Taipei City, Taiwan. He was a cheerful, conscientious and responsible child. On 25 December 2023, while trying to maintain order in his classroom, he was attacked with a knife by another student at the school. He was taken to hospital but did not survive. Since that day, he has never come home from school again.

We miss Chengxun, and we hope others will remember him too. Classroom 904 holds our deepest pain, but we do not want that memory to be forgotten. We hope to turn the original classroom into the “Yang Chengxun Memorial Classroom”: a place where children can learn respect, empathy and how to protect themselves, and know whom to turn to when they are in danger. We also hope to bring these lessons and experiences to more schools, so that our love and remembrance of Chengxun can help protect other children.

Children and individual teachers cannot bear responsibility for school safety alone. To turn remembrance into institutional change, we make three calls for action: a memorial classroom, school safety learning materials, and safeguards for teachers’ lawful authority to guide and discipline students, backed by professional support.

This is the first phase of inviting co-initiators; the petition is not yet open to the general public. We warmly invite education organisations, teachers’ organisations, experts and scholars in fields such as education, law, counselling, psychology and social work, and representatives of parents’ organisations who support these three calls to join as individuals or organisations. Once the list of co-initiators and the petition text are confirmed, we will move to the next phase and invite the general public to sign. This first phase runs until 28 September 2026, Teachers’ Day in Taiwan. Please confirm your participation by 28 September.

We understand that putting your name to a public statement requires careful consideration and mutual trust. If you support this direction, please join us as a co-initiator and help us call on the government to act, so that every child can go to school and return home safely.

With respect,
Yang Chengxun’s parents

12 September 2026

About Becoming a Co-initiator

1. How to participate: Education organisations, teachers’ organisations and parents’ organisations may be listed in their organisational capacity. Experts, scholars and organisational representatives may also be listed as individuals.
2. Current scope: This phase seeks individual and organisational co-initiators. It is not a general public petition.
3. Administration: This initiative does not raise or solicit funds. Co-initiators will not be charged fees or asked to provide staff or venues. Victim Support Taiwan (VST) is responsible for administering the petition.
4. Public communications: No public statement will be made in the name of an individual or organisational co-initiator without their confirmation. Press releases and public statements will be sent to co-initiators for confirmation before release.
5. Political neutrality: This initiative is not affiliated with any political party or election campaign. If elected representatives from different parties are invited to offer support, all parties will be treated on an equal basis.

Three Calls for Action

1. Establish the Yang Chengxun Memorial Classroom and Make School Safety a Shared Commitment

We call on the New Taipei City Government, its Education Department and Qingshui High School to work together to turn the original Classroom 904 into the “Yang Chengxun Memorial Classroom”, with a commemorative bronze plaque. The target completion date is 25 December 2026, the third anniversary of the incident. The classroom should be an educational space that promotes respect for life, a welcoming school environment, school safety and support for reasonable discipline by teachers. The family, school and education professionals should jointly plan the space, its learning activities and how it will be used, taking account of students’ and staff members’ learning and psychological support needs.

2. Use Chengxun’s Story to Help Children Learn How to Seek Help and Protect Themselves

We call on the education authorities to bring together teachers, parents and counselling professionals to develop school safety learning materials based on Chengxun’s story. These materials should be age-appropriate, respect privacy and avoid causing trauma. They should teach respect for life, rejection of bullying, emotional regulation, recognition of threats and safe ways to seek help. Children must receive a clear message: when faced with a threat of violence, protect yourself first and seek help from an adult. Responsibility for school safety must not fall on students or student class representatives. The materials and teaching experience should gradually be shared with more schools.

3. Restore Teachers’ Lawful Authority and Institutional Support to Address School Safety at Its Roots

Teachers are on the front line of daily teaching, classroom management and identifying warning signs. School safety requires designated personnel, and those on the front line need clear authority and responsibilities, resources and institutional backing. We call for safeguards for teachers’ lawful, reasonable and proportionate guidance and discipline, including the authority to intervene when necessary to stop harmful conduct. Fear of false complaints should not drive teachers into a defensive approach focused only on protecting themselves.

3.1 Replace the Current School Affairs Meeting System with a Fair and Professional Mechanism

We call for the abolition of the current school affairs meeting system (校事會議, a school-level mechanism for handling complaints concerning teachers), with the necessary regulatory changes to replace it with an independent, professional complaints investigation mechanism that respects due process. Ordinary parent–teacher communication issues and teaching disputes should first be addressed through professional mediation. Where there are concerns about unlawful harm or serious unfitness to teach, students must be protected promptly and investigations conducted in accordance with the law. Clear criteria for accepting complaints, procedures for directing cases to the appropriate process, reasonable time limits and rules for repeated complaints without new evidence should reduce abusive complaints and repeated investigations. Teachers must be able to present their account, respond to allegations and obtain legal assistance.

Safeguarding teachers’ lawful authority and protecting students’ right to complain must go hand in hand. An unsubstantiated complaint must not automatically be treated as malicious. Specific allegations of harm must still be properly investigated and addressed, with access to remedies. The replacement system must be ready when the current one ends, so that there is no gap in protection or accountability.

3.2 Set Clear Boundaries for Parent–Teacher Cooperation and Make Schools Responsible for Supporting Teachers

Parents should respect teachers’ lawful professional teaching and discipline, communicate through formal channels, and refrain from threats, harassment or improper pressure that interferes with teaching. Principals and school administrative teams should take responsibility for handling disputes, facilitating communication and managing crises. This will allow teachers to teach with confidence and give parents a reliable way to resolve concerns.

3.3 Provide School Safety and Professional Support, with Early Intervention and Continued Follow-up

School safety personnel should support teachers and work with student affairs, counselling, special education, social welfare and mental health professionals, with stable funding and clear responsibilities. When there are threats of violence or persistent serious disruption, schools should intervene promptly, arrange safe placement and provide appropriate education and counselling. Teachers must not be left to manage these situations alone.

Students with special educational needs should receive individualised support and appropriate resources. For students with serious behavioural difficulties, a risk of violence or involvement in criminal conduct, assessment, education, counselling and cooperation across professions should respond to their actual needs and risks. Labels attached to a student must not be used to presume dangerousness, but specific risks must not be ignored. Children who need help should receive early support, while the safety of all students and staff is protected.

By remembering, we can protect the future.

Co-initiator Details

I / Our organisation support the three calls for action above and agree to be listed as an individual / organisational co-initiator in the first phase of this initiative.

Please complete the petition form and return it by email to [email protected].

Collection, Processing and Use of Personal Data

Personal data collected for this petition will be processed and used only as necessary to administer the petition, and never for any other purpose. All personal data will be stored securely, kept strictly confidential and destroyed when the campaign ends.

We are committed to transparency and a reasoned, constructive approach. Please contact us with any suggestions or questions.

Petition administration contact: Mr Hsiao, Victim Support Taiwan

Mobile / LINE: 0978220363 (Taiwan mobile: +886 978 220 363)

Email: [email protected]

By remembering, we can protect the future.

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