A private high school in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) is facing fines and reduced enrollment after it yesterday held a graduation ceremony in breach of COVID-19 prevention measures.
Taipei Kuei Shan School held its graduation ceremony, despite a visit earlier in the morning by Taipei Department of Education officials telling them not to, the department said.
The department learned that the school held the ceremony after pictures were posted on Facebook criticizing the event, it said.
A user posted photographs of students in graduation gowns and wrote: “The nobility disregard pandemic measures, continuing with their graduation ceremony. They have money and power, so are they above everyone else?”
“The department had been in touch with the school by telephone since Friday night, but they insisted on going ahead with the ceremony,” department Deputy Commissioner Chen Su-hui (陳素慧) said.
The school tried to avoid regulations prohibiting outdoor gatherings of 10 or more people by splitting the ceremony into three segments, each with nine students, Chen said.
However, regulations also stipulate that schools may not hold graduation ceremonies during a level 3 COVID-19 alert, she said, adding that the school would be fined NT$60,000 to NT$300,000.
Under the Private School Act (私立學校法), a school would normally be required to form a committee to investigate legal contraventions and make improvements within a specified timeline, she said.
However, since the graduation ceremony has already been held, the department would instead reduce the school’s permitted enrollment numbers for the next academic year, she said.
School principal Wu Cheng-tung (吳正東) said that it was the board of directors that had decided to hold the ceremony and that he was initially unaware that the event would proceed.
After he was informed about the plans on Friday, he urged the board to put off any ceremonies until after the pandemic, he said.
Wu said that he respected the regulations, but since principals at private schools are chosen by their directors there was nothing he could do, adding that he was at home during the ceremony.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
RSS