With years of hard work behind her, Chang Ying-hua (
Chang expressed her gratitude to Lei Chia-chia (
"I will serve as a court clerk at the Taichung Military Prosecutors' Office. But before that, I will visit Lei at her home in Kaohsiung," Chang said.
PHOTO: CNA
Chang, along with another 681 graduates from five military academies, received her bachelor's degree in law at the university's Fuxinggang campus in Taipei. But Chang stressed that her accomplishment would not have been possible without Lei.
Lei also graduated this year, from National Chengchi University's law department.
Four years ago, Lei passed her university entrance exam and was accepted at the National Defense University. Chang was listed as a priority alternate for admission to the law program.
Both Chang and Lei hoped to attend military academies because they were from poor families. When Lei was accepted and Chang put on the alternate list, Lei decided to give her spot to Chang because Chang and her family had lost their house to the 921 earthquake and had been struggling financially ever since. Lei said at that time that Chang needed the chance more than she.
"I cannot not tell you how I appreciate her sacrifice," Chang said. "I shall continue to perform well, not for myself, but for Lei."
Commencement began when President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen encouraged the entire graduating class to "fight for the existence of the country."
"You are here for Taiwan's existence, for Taiwan's democracy and for the safety of Taiwan's citizens," Chen said. "I wish you all complete success in the future and hope you will contribute to the country independent of politics."
The commencement ended when all the graduates had their picture taken with the president, the premier, the defense minister and other high-ranking officers while throwing their caps in the air.
Graduates from the medical school began as first lieutenants while all the other graduates began as second lieutenants or ensigns.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
MINOR DISRUPTION: The outage affected check-in and security screening, while passport control was done manually and runway operations continued unaffected The main departure hall and other parts of Terminal 2 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport lost power on Tuesday, causing confusion among passengers before electricity was fully restored more than an hour later. The outage, the cause of which is still being investigated, began at about midday and affected parts of Terminal 2, including the check-in gates, the security screening area and some duty-free shops. Parts of the terminal immediately activated backup power sources, while others remained dark until power was restored in some of the affected areas starting at 12:23pm. Power was fully restored at 1:13pm. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a
RSS