The country's religion-affiliated schools are accepting applications for the upcoming school year after the Ministry of Education (MOE) agreed last year to allow religion-based schools to set up departments devoted to the study of a single faith.
The decision was a major move for the ministry, which historically advocated the separation of religion and academia.
Following the green light from the ministry, several schools such as Dharma Drum Buddhist College and Chang Jung Christian University immediately jumped at the opportunity and opened up specific departments to give their students extensive studies in the respective religions.
Last month, Chang Jung Christian School opened up the country's first School of Theology and formally introduced Christian studies into the collegiate curricula.
The diplomas of the seminary graduates will also be recognized by the ministry.
In addition to submitting an academic portfolio and passing a series of examinations, all applicants to the school must be Christians and must be recommended by the leader of their congregation.
All students at Dharma Drum Buddhist College are required to live in the school dormitory and follow a strict Buddhist vegetarian diet.
The college, combined with teaching resources from Dharma Drum Mountain World Center for Buddhist Education, allows students to learn all aspects of the religion, including the doctrine and the Buddhist code of conduct.
Students are also required to recite the sutra both morning and night as well as participate in service projects to amplify the Buddhist tenet of rendering compassion to others.
Huanfan University, the first university founded by the Buddhist community in a Chinese speaking country, is only recruiting female students -- including Buddhist nuns -- this year for its department of Buddhism studies.
Additional reporting by Staff Writer
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS