EDUCATION
Malaysian students increasing
With 10,374 of its nationals studying in Taiwan last year, Malaysia is the largest source of overseas students in the nation, the latest Ministry of Education statistics show. The number is nearly double the 5,248 figure recorded in 2010, according to the data, a surge the ministry attributed to Kuala Lumpur’s 2012 relaxation of restrictions on the recognition of certificates and diplomas issued by Taiwanese schools. That year, Taiwan also eased restrictions on foreign students working after graduating, including removing the requirement of work experience and lowering the minimum amount they must earn, the ministry said. The nation had a total of 78,261 foreign students last year, up 18.53 percent from 66,026 the previous year, according to ministry statistics. If the growth continues, the number of foreign students could reach the government’s goal of 100,000 in 2016, the ministry said.
CRIME
US school director jailed
The director of an English-language cram school has been sentenced to seven months in prison for an obscene act against an employee last year, the Supreme Court said yesterday, upholding the Taiwan High Court’s previous verdict. The Supreme Court ruled that US national Mark Hinnawi committed an act of forced obscenity against a female teacher in April last year at the buxiban he founded in New Taipei City. The verdict said he tried to hug the teacher, but was rejected, after which he forcibly thrust his lower body against hers until interrupted by the approach of students. The teacher told Hinnawi she wanted to quit, at which point he apologized, the verdict said. She recorded the apology as evidence and went to the police. At his trial, Hinnawi denied the accusations, the verdict said.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
IN FULL SWING: Recall drives against lawmakers in Hualien, Taoyuan and Hsinchu have reached the second-stage threshold, the campaigners said Campaigners in a recall petition against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) in Taichung yesterday said their signature target is within sight, and that they need a big push to collect about 500 more signatures from locals to reach the second-stage threshold. Recall campaigns against KMT lawmakers Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) and Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) are also close to the 10 percent threshold, and campaigners are mounting a final push this week. They need about 800 signatures against Chiang and about 2,000 against Yang. Campaigners seeking to recall Lo said they had reached the threshold figure over the
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