Dozens of college students yesterday rallied outside National Taiwan University (NTU), calling on the government to provide assistance with transportation so they can return home to vote on Jan. 14, as election day falls in the final week of exams for many students.
Holding signs showing their school names and their home towns, such as: “I study at NTU, I have to go back to Kaohsiung to vote,” “I study at National Chung Cheng University, I have to go back to Hualien to vote” and “I study at NSYSU [National Sun Yat-sen University], I have to go back to Nantou to vote,” students attending universities that are far away from their hometowns protested outside the main NTU campus in Taipei.
National Chung Cheng University is in Chiayi County, while National Sun Yat-sen University is in Greater Kaohisung.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
According to the Election and Recall Act of Public Servants (公職人員選舉罷免法), voters can only cast their ballots at designated polling centers near their registered home addresses, making it difficult for people studying or working away from home to vote.
“Setting Jan. 14 as polling day [for the presidential and legislative elections] is a decision that overlooks the rights of students studying away from their home towns to begin with because it’s the final exam period for most students. Some even have to turn in their semester papers around that date,” said Chen Ting-hao (陳廷豪), a student at National Taipei University of Education’s department of educational management.
Few students would be willing to take their assignments or books home just to vote, he said.
Chiang Yu-hsin (江昱欣), a master’s student at NTU’s Graduate Institute of National Development, said he had to take a final exam on the day before the elections.
“Then, I’ll have to take a late-night train or highway bus back to Kaohsiung so that I can vote the next day,” he said.
“I’m lucky enough to have my final on Jan. 13, some of my friends have their finals on Jan. 14 and they just have to give up their right to vote,” Chiang said.
The students urged the government to provide transportation for students who want to go home to exercise their right to vote and for the Ministry of Education to check if there are any schools that require their students to take their finals or to turn in their papers on polling day.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS