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Taiwan Quick Take

PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES

■ EDUCATION
Group protests tuition hikes
An advocacy group staged a demonstration at the Ministry of Education yesterday to protest the high cost of university education and call for a freeze of tuition fees for the next academic year. Around 30 students from the Coalition Against High Tuition in Taiwan protested in front of the ministry to condemn the increasing commercialization of education, arguing that "education is by no means a commodity" and that "tuition fees should not be adjusted in accordance with the consumer price index." The demonstrators condemned a number of colleges and universities for taking special funding from the ministry while continuing to increase tuition fees. They were referring to 23 universities that received funding under a five-year, NT$50 billion (US$1.5 billion) higher education and teaching excellence subsidy program.

■ WEATHER
More heavy rain expected
Central Weather Bureau forecaster Hsiao Chia-sen (蕭家森) said yesterday there were no changes to the weather system over the country and that the weather would remain unstable during the coming week. Hsiao said that the nation could experience torrential rainfall at least until Wednesday and that the situation after Thursday remained uncertain. The bureau warned that while the weather front remained unchanged, residents should be prepared for heavy rain and lightning. Hsiao said residents in low-lying areas should take measures to prevent flooding while those in mountainous areas should watch for landslides and falling rocks.

■ POPULATION
Fertility rate dropping
The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said that the country's total fertility rate (TFR) dropped by more than 60 percent over the last 30 years, with its TFR dwindling from 3.4 children in 1975 to 1.4 in 2005. The country's 60.2 percent fall in TFR -- the average number of babies born to women during their reproductive years, from 15 to 49 -- was greater than the world's average 40.7 percent decline during the same 1975 to 2005 period, which went from 4.5 to 2.7 children, the DGBAS reported. In Asia, South Korea registered the largest decrease in TFR, at 71 percent, followed by Hong Kong at 67.5 percent and China at 65 percent, the DGBAS said. TFR is the single most important factor in determining future population, experts said.

■ POLITICS
Yeh reveals intentions
Former vice premier Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) yesterday said that she would not pass up the opportunity if she was called upon to be Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) presidential running mate. It was the first time Yeh had made her intentions known since Hsieh was nominated as the Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate. Yeh, however, declined to reveal whether she had obtained the backing of the party or whether there was any mutual understanding between her and Hsieh. There is mounting speculation that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) favors former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) as Hsieh's running mate, while Hsieh is widely believed to favor Yeh.


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