A youth foundation yesterday launched a cross-strait astronomy camp, with junior high school students from Beijing joining their counterparts in Taiwan for a week of cultural exchange and study of the heavens.
The Tosun Public Interest Foundation, an organization that deals with youth issues, organized the program, in which 20 students from China and 40 from Taiwan will participate in the week-long camp and tour the nation.
The camp officially begins tomorrow and will last until Friday.
Liao Cheng-hao (廖正豪), the foundation's director, said that the astronomy camp will take place on Alishan and Yushan, where there are clear skies that offer an excellent view of planets and stars.
Liao said that the camp was a rare opportunity for youth from both sides of the Taiwan Strait to meet and learn from one another.
Foundation vice executive director Viviane Tien (
Jing Hairong (
Jing said that the Chinese students will share what they learned in Taiwan with other students upon their return to Beijing.
Liu Ge, an eighth-grade student and member of the astronomy club of Beijing's Jingshang Middle School, said it was her first visit to Taiwan, and that she was excited to learn about the students here as well as view the heavens from Taiwan.
Miao Jun (
A representative from the Taipei astronomical museum, Chiang Chung-jen (江崇仁), said that astronomical education in Taiwan consisted of just a few science classes at school, which only covered the basics. Schools should do more to emphasize astronomy, Chiang said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not