The Alliance of Fairness and Justice, also known as the "pan-purple alliance," urged the government yesterday to heed the plight of university students, warning that student demonstrations could disrupt the presidential election next March.
Chien Hsi-chieh, the alliance's convener, said at a news conference that many university students are now facing economic hardship and the threat of unemployment after graduation.
"Skyrocketing tuition fees and textbook prices have forced many university students to take part-time jobs while leading a humble lifestyle like a cockroach," Chien said, adding that the misery index among young people this year was at a record high.
Worse still, Chien said, many new graduates have had a hard time landing jobs.
Chien said that the difficulties for university graduates in finding work was a reflection of the local job market, and therefore the current administration those intending to run for president next year should present policy initiatives to improve the job situation for new graduates.
Chien said the pan-purple alliance, which is composed of nine major social welfare groups that promote fair and just welfare services, will sponsor a series of seminars across the country next month to discuss tuition and employment problems faced by students.
"Young students are welcome to attend the seminars to report on their predicaments and give their views on what the government should do to help them," Chien said.
He predicted that if the government fails to properly address students' problems, student movements could resurface.
The donation of offshore patrol vessel Kinmen to the Philippines includes provisions that protect Taiwanese fishers and facilitate security cooperation across the First Island Chain, officials said yesterday. The comment was made during the Cabinet’s comprehensive administrative report at the legislature after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) expressed concerns about the decision to give a ship to a country whose coast guard had in 2013 fired on a Taiwanese trawler and killed its captain without provocation. The Cabinet should lay out the safeguards that have been established to prevent the Philippine government from using the Kinmen to harass, expel
GROWING TIES: The CGA is planning a goodwill mission to the Philippines, in what would be the first time since 1975 a Taiwanese paramilitary vessel has visited the country The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) plans to significantly expand its participation in international security cooperative frameworks and its operational capabilities, a budget proposal for next year showed. The budget indicates a transformation of the CGA from a maritime law enforcement arm into a national defense and intelligence gathering entity capable of tackling larger regional security matters. The proposal showed that personnel from the coast guard’s Intelligence Division and Special Action Support Center are to participate in high-level national security talks with the US. As the CGA has dealt with China’s rising “gray zone” threats around Taiwan, it has become a valuable asset to
A patrol vessel donated by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) to the Philippines was commissioned into the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday, a Philippine non-governmental organization said. The CGA on Sept. 16 confirmed media reports that Taiwan had donated a retired 500-tonne patrol vessel to the Philippines. The Manila-based We Protect Our Seas (WPS) foundation, which served as an intermediary in the transfer, said that the vessel was formerly the CGA’s 500-tonne petrol vessel Kinmen (CG123). The WPS, in a statement issued on Friday, said the vessel, renamed as the BRP Sarangani, had been commissioned into the PCG the
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) today said that two of its patrol vessels have docked at Palau's Malakal Harbor as part of an expedition exercise and diplomatic visit, during which a senior official is expected to meet with the Palauan president. The two vessels, the 4,000-tonne-class Chiayi (嘉義) and the 1,000-tonne-class Penghu (澎湖), set sail for Palau from Taiwan last week and arrived at Malakal Harbor yesterday, the CGA's Fleet Branch said in a statement. The journey marked the second time the CGA has dispatched a "Friendship Fleet" to another country, after it sent its first-ever goodwill fleet, comprising the Hualien (花蓮)
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