National Dong Hwa University graduate student Yang Chao-ning (
So when her classmates discovered her hanging by a rope two weeks ago, they were at a loss to imagine what could have driven the "campus flower" to end her life.
Yang's suicide note pointed at a simple, albeit chilling, answer: a villainous landlord.
While speculation deepens over whether Yang killed herself due to a Hualien landlord's allegedly vicious conduct, or years of depression, her death has sparked a debate on whether schools pay enough attention to students living off campus.
For lawmakers and students, universities nationwide are ill-equipped to handle student accommodation and they're fed up.
"This isn't just about suicide," Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) said yesterday at a press conference calling on the government to more actively address the issue.
"This is part of a larger problem of off-campus housing," she added.
Lai said Yang was never actually a tenant of the allegedly unethical landlord, but had panned him in a blog for demanding unfair contract terms from classmates.
On Jan. 14, Yang hanged herself in an act of protest against the landlord following his threat to sue her for libel unless she publicly apologized for her blog entries, Lai said.
"I will never kowtow to that rotten landlord," Yang reportedly wrote in her suicide note.
Yang's father said at the conference that his daughter killed herself "for justice," adding that she had defied the landlord on behalf of her classmates.
Lai, however, confirmed reports that Yang had been battling depression and had been cutting classes prior to her death.
The landlord, meanwhile, reportedly denied ever meeting Yang, saying that all he had wanted was an apology.
Panelists yesterday, including Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) and education officials, refused to speculate on Yang's motivation for taking her own life, focusing instead on the larger problem of accommodation.
A press release said that universities nationwide lacked housing officials, with ratios of one official fielding off-campus housing for every one thousand to ten thousand students.
Lawmakers urged the Ministry of Education to post more such personnel at schools and to act quickly when spats arise between landlords and students.
Ministry officials said the government was actively pursuing various options.
Ministry statistics showed that universities can only house 250,000 graduate students on campus, while the nation's number of such students total 470,000.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS