■ EDUCATION
Tuition increases limited
Increases in tuition and miscellaneous fees at domestic universities will not exceed more than 2.88 percent for the academic year starting in September, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Based on the rate, tuition and miscellaneous fees can rise between NT$327 and NT$1,928, according to different departments and universities, the ministry said in a statement. The announcement came amid reports that many universities were planning to apply to the ministry to raise fees by between 5 percent and 10 percent for the next academic year. Opposition legislators have expressed concern that the hikes would deal another blow to cash-strapped households already hurt by inflation. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Pan Meng-an (潘孟安) said a 5 percent hike would push public university tuition and miscellaneous fees into the range of NT$26,000 to NT$42,000 per semester and those of private universities to NT$45,000 to NT$74,000 per semester.
■ AID
Taiwanese pledge millions
Taiwanese people and firms pledged more than US$9 million in one night to help rebuild schools in China’s earthquake-hit region, China’s state press reported yesterday. The donations were made to a television show on Thursday evening aired to raise money for victims of the May 12 earthquake that devastated Sichuan Province and killed more than 69,000 people, Xinhua news agency said. Taiwanese and Chinese singers performed on the three-hour show, which also featured video clips. The report did not give details of the donors, other than to say they pledged a total of 64 million yuan (US$9.38 million) to rebuild the many schools that collapsed in the quake, killing thousands of students. By the end of last month Taiwanese had also donated 2,000 tonnes of cement, 100 satellite telephones, 100 tonnes of tents, sleeping bags, medical supplies and other relief materials, the report said, citing the Chinese government’s Taiwan Affairs Office.
■ FLOODING
Authorities to investigate
The Kaohsiung City Government will assess the city’s drainage system following flooding on Thursday, Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said yesterday. Thursday’s torrential rains in central and southern Taiwan left many places in Kaohsiung flooded, with some low-lying areas submerged in knee-high rainwater for hours. The city received about 240mm of rainfall on Thursday, receiving up to 90mm in one hour. The drainage system is designed to handle 79mm per hour. Residents complained that a concrete wall built by the city government for dredging at Lotus Lake (蓮池潭), the city’s famous scenic spot, blocked the drainage facilities and turned out to be the major cause of the flooding. Chen said the city government’s Public Works Bureau and related authorities will investigate the reason for the flooding and if the investigation shows the cause was the concrete wall, the construction company that built it and the city government will take responsibility.
■ SPORTS
First lady for Paralympics?
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday suggested that first lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) lead the nation’s delegation to the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, which will be held in September. After resigning as the head of the legal department at Mega International Commercial Bank, Chow decided to serve as honorary chairperson of Taiwan’s Red Cross Society.
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
STAY VIGILANT: People should reduce the risk of chronic liver inflammation by avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and eating pickled foods, the physician said A doctor last week urged people to look for five key warning signs of acute liver failure after popular producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳) was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis is the rapid and massive death of liver cells, impairing the organ’s detoxification, metabolic, protein synthesis and bile production functions, which if left untreated has a mortality rate as high as 80 percent, according to the Web site of Advancing Clinical Treatment of Liver Disease, an international organization focused on liver disease prevention and treatment. People with hepatitis B or C are at higher risk of
FINE PRINT: Parents should carefully evaluate offers from cram schools that are designed to lower the amount they have to refund later, a New Taipei City official said New Taipei City Consumer Protection Office Director Wang Chih-yu (王治宇) urged parents to check contract content and institutional operations before sending children to cram schools, enrichment classes or day care centers during summer vacation. Closures and refund problems most commonly occur in cram schools, especially language cram schools, many of which have been facing difficulties due to the popularity of online learning apps and studying abroad, Wang said. Cram schools that closed due to financial issues were often unable to refund tuition fees, he said. Under Article 24 of the Rules for the Establishment and Management of Short-term Supplementary Learning Centers (短期補習班設立及管理準則), cram
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