National Chengchi University (NCCU) has opened a co-ed dormitory, a first in Taiwan among state-funded Taiwan universities.
The 22 duplexes are at the renovated “Huanan New Village,” in Taipei City’s Mucha (木柵) area, near the NCCU campus, a school official said yesterday.
Twenty-two out of 37 group applications were selected in a lottery draw to select who would be chosen to live in the units, which can either be shared by up to eight students if the unit has four bedrooms, or up to 10 students if it is a five-bedroom unit, officials said.
Photo courtesy of the school
Completed in 1964 for campus staff housing, the “Huanan” residence has since undergone renovation and cultural preservation work in recent years, with NCCU now allowing male and female co-habitation, and each unit is provided with beds, tables, chairs, a refrigerator and a washing machine, officials said.
The units are reasonably priced, as the total monthly rent ranges between NT$20,000 to NT$25,000 for groups of up to 10 students per house, and the cost for each student is only about NT$2,500 per month for a school term duration, officials said.
In other related news, a recent survey conducted by the Professor Huang Kun-huei Education Foundation found that Taiwanese are in favor of abolishing gender segregation at high schools, endorsing boys and girls to be taught together in classrooms during their teenage years.
Nearly all top high schools across Taiwan are unisex, said professor of education Kuo Sheng-yu (郭生玉) who headed up the survey.
“This school segregation by gender is like ‘Apartheid’ for students, It is a severe violation of the human character,” Kuo said last week.
“During a student’s teenage years, attending high school is the most critical stage for getting to know the opposite sex. The schools should not be segregated, and boys and girls should learn together in classrooms,” he added.
Survey results showed Taiwanese have more progressive concepts on gender issues, with 80 percent saying they would encourage children to challenge traditional gender roles, so that they are less restricted by norms when pursuing personal interests and professional careers, foundation director Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said.
Nearly 70 percent agreed that society has changed, he said, adding that Taiwan’s traditionally male-centered mindset has diminished.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —