Several universities yesterday held their graduation ceremonies, which were smaller and incorporated videoconferencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At National Taiwan University’s (NTU) event, students wore masks while speakers participated via videoconference.
The scaled-down ceremony, with attendees sitting apart to maintain social distancing, was attended by 523 students and 675 parents, compared with about 2,700 of each last year.
Photo provided by National Cheng Kung University
“We are apart in distance, put on masks and avoid contact with others. Such distancing can lead to alienation, as well as to more apprehension and misgivings, but we should reduce the psychological distance between people so that our society can maintain its intimate connections,” NTU president Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) said in his address.
The pandemic has changed people’s behavior and severely affected many industries, particularly those that require in-person interactions, he said.
“Remote work will be the new normal. Tensions are running high between the US and China, and many countries have closed their borders, leading many to believe that this will be the end of the trend toward globalization of the past three decades,” Kuan said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“However, propelled by new information technology, globalization will continue. Although the ‘world order’ might be reorganized and economic powers might shift, these will not stop ongoing international development, so we must all face the challenges of globalization,” he said.
To face such challenges, people would need more than the ability to speak foreign languages or competitive international skills, but also an appreciation for different cultures, and the ability to live in and interact with them, to find their own place and become leaders of globalization, he added.
“Hold on to your passion and cultivate your transcultural quotient,” Kuan told students.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “[we] appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
RSS