National Taiwan University (NTU) students yesterday staged a demonstration on campus to protest the school’s decision to demolish several student dorms to make room for new academic research centers and more expensive housing for students.
“We were informed only last month that we have to move out of our dorm rooms because the school wants to construct new buildings for several research centers,” said Tseng Hsiang (曾翔), an NTU graduate student who lives in one of the condemned dorm halls. “As NTU students, we welcome the new facilities, but not at this cost to our welfare.”
Although the school also plans to construct new dorms, Tseng said it would cost too much to stay in the new facility. The monthly rent for one student in the current school-run dorms ranges from NT$875 to NT$2,250 including bills, depending on the type of room, while the new dorms, which will be constructed under a build-operate-transfer project run by a private firm, would cost students between NT$4,200 and NT$8,500 plus extra for bills, Tseng said, citing information provided by the Student Affairs Office.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
“Graduate students who work as research assistants only make about NT$4,000 to NT$5,000 — how can we afford to stay in these new dorms?” Tseng said.
What has made the students even more upset is that the university did not involve them in the decision-making process.
“We, the students, didn’t know what the situation was — we were only told about the decision after it had been made,” Student Association president Hsu Ching-fang (?? said.
The research centers for mathematics, physics and astronomy are part of the university’s plans to boost its global ranking and make the top 100.
Graduate Institute of Building and Planning student Hsieh Sheng-yu (謝昇佑) said, judging by how the school handled the issue: “I would say that objective is an impossible dream.”
“The more important factor for improving a university’s academic status is the quality of the students, not constructing new buildings or getting new hardware,” Hsieh said. “Apparently, NTU did not consider their own students mature enough to be engaged as part of the decision-making process.”
In protest, students covered a bell tower on campus dedicated to late university president Fu Si-nian (傅斯年) with black sheeting.
“The student dorms were built by Fu because a lot of students from China had no place to stay after fleeing to Taiwan [with the Chinese Nationalist Party],” Hsu told reporters. “The NTU leadership today has insulted the spirit of care and love shown by Fu.”
An NTU official in charge of dormitory management, Hsu Huo-li (?Q), said the university would not alter its decision, but added that it would look after the students’ welfare.
“The university will hire trucks to help the students move and we aren’t forcing the [protesting] students to move into the new dorms — they’ll be allowed to stay in other inexpensive dorms run by the school,” Hsu Huo-li said.
However, Hsieh said that still didn’t solve the problem.
“We get to stay in inexpensive dorms because we protest, but the problem is still there and other students will eventually have to pay to live in the new expensive dorms,” he said.
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
WARNING: Domestic coffee producers mainly grow arabica beans, as they self-pollinate, but they are more likely to have consistency issues, an expert said Taiwan ranks third in coffee consumption per capita in Asia, the latest Ministry of Agriculture data showed. Taiwanese consume 1.77kg, or 177 cups of coffee, per person each year, less only than Japan and South Korea, at 600 cups and 400 cups respectively, the ministry’s Tea and Beverage Research Station said. Although the nation mainly relies on imported coffee, there has been an increase in home-grown coffee bean production, the ministry said. Cuttings and other techniques are commonly used to ensure domestic beans have stronger floral and fruity flavors, it said. It is a fast-expanding market with Taiwan’s coffee consumption
RSS