Sun, Jan 14, 2007 page3

• Taiwan Quick Take

  • CNA, WITH STAFF WRITER
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  ■ Education

  MOE releases student data

  Although the total number of elementary and junior high school students has been declining, the number of those from mixed marriages has increased 1.8 times over the past four years, according to a report released this month by the Ministry of Education. For the current academic year, a total of 80,166 children from mixed marriages are enrolled in elementary and junior high schools, up 33 percent from the previous year, the report said. Of these students, 28,776 have a parent from China, followed by 18,007 with an Indonesian parent and 16,584 with a parent from Vietnam. The number of elementary and junior high school students has decreased from 2.87 million in the 2003-2004 academic year to 2.75 million in the current academic year, according to the report. In contrast, the number of those from mixed marriages has jumped from 30,040 in the 2003-2004 academic year to more than 80,000 in the current academic year.

  ■ Society

  Ministry amends welfare law

  Ministry of the Interior (MOI) officials said yesterday that the passage of an amendment to the Senior Citizen Welfare Law (老人福利法) will help facilitate government efforts to protect the elderly. The amended law, which passed the Legislative Yuan on Friday, was first promulgated in January 1980, and has not been comprehensively revised for the past 10 years. The amended law stipulates that if nursing homes abuse their charges, withhold information on the abuse, provide an unsafe environment or unsanitary food, they will face fines of between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 (US$1,830-US$9,150) and will be fined continuously until the situation is rectified. If residents are found to have been injured or abandoned, the nursing homes involved will face fines of between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000 plus criminal charges and the publication of their names.

  ■ Enviroment

  EPA wants better water

  The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has demanded improvements in water potability in Mailiao Township (麥寮), Yunlin County, as well as on Kinmen. EPA officials said they have asked local environmental protection departments to fine water treatment plants that fail to reach quality standards or fail to improve. The officials noted that arsenic levels tested at the Mailiao water plant last year were 0.0139mg per liter, higher than the standard level of 0.01mg per liter. An investigation showed that the plant had been taking water from three wells that have high levels of arsenic. Water quality on Kinmen has also been unstable due to insufficient water resources.

  ■ Diplomacy

  Tu pays visit to Vatican

  Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝) visited the prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, in the Vatican on Friday. The pair held talks on promoting cultural and educational exchanges between Taiwan and the Holy See after Tu arrived in Rome a day earlier. During their talks Grocholewski said that he was impressed by Taiwan's political, economic and cultural advances when he visited the nation in 2003. He explained the Holy See's educational system and concepts and emphasized that the Catholic Church instills the core values of human rights, world peace, justice and family values in its schools worldwide. Tu expressed his admiration for the Catholic Church's contribution to society and said Taiwan identifies with the Holy See's educational values.
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