With a lion dance and musical performances by some of its students, the Taipei American School (TAS) held a grand opening celebration for its Joanna Nichols Memorial Library yesterday.
School officials said the library was named after a strong advocate for children with special needs, who also was a parent of two former TAS students.
A plaque unveiled at the opening ceremony yesterday read that Nichols came to Taiwan in 1978 and learned to speak fluent Mandarin and Taiwanese.
Nichols and her husband, Kenny Cheng (鄭欽明), a native of Taiwan, founded the Children's Hearing Foundation, which helped hearing-impaired children.
Nichols passed away in 2001 after a long battle with cancer.
Jade Chien, chair of the TAS board of directors, said the opening of the new library was "the beginning of our efforts to constantly improve student learning at TAS."
The lower, middle and upper school libraries each occupy a floor in the building, while the second floor holds information technology and audio-video facilities, including a film studio and an editing room.
"I'm very excited about the new library," fourth grade teacher Mary Lee said. "It has more potential than the old library."
The Chinese library was another new addition to TAS.
"It's the first time we have a collection of books in Chinese since the founding of the school in 1949," Rose Lai (
The Chinese library will facilitate Chinese learning, which is required for students from kindergarten to the fifth grade and an elective for students from sixth to twelfth grades, Lai said.
"[I feel] a great sense of accomplishment," Chris Hanna, superintendent of TAS, said. "And a sense of bringing the community together."
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as