National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) yesterday held a groundbreaking ceremony for the reconstruction of its Yue-han Hall (月涵堂) in Taipei, which is to be used by its Taipei School of Economics and Political Science (TSE).
Three former ministers of education, Wu Ching-ji (吳清基), Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧) and Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮), as well as former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), attended the ceremony.
Yue-han Hall has profound meaning to the university, NTHU president John Kao (高為元) said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
As its front building has been designated a historic building, it would be preserved and repaired according to the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法), he said, adding that the rear structure would be demolished and replaced by a 12-story building with a three-level basement, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
Ko said that while Japan has the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management, the US has Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and Singapore has the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Taiwan lacks an academy for politicians.
Politicians need proper training and cannot rely on self-exploration, he said, adding that he is looking forward to TSE’s establishment.
TSE Foundation chairperson Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) said that three years and 10 months after signing a contract to establish the TSE, NTHU has fulfilled its commitment by converting Yue-han Hall into the TSE Building.
Former NTHU president Hocheng Hong (賀陳弘) said the TSE has the geographic advantage of being close to Hsinchu Science Park and is discussing talent cultivation projects for teachers and students with the London School of Economics and Political Science.
National Taiwan University (NTU) president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) told the University Council that NTU’s new School of Economics and Political Science would begin enrolling students next year, with 15 students in each program.
NTU’s proposal to establish a School of Economics and Political Science was approved by the Ministry of Education, enabling it to launch a graduate program of economics and political science, and another program of finance.
There are many universities and research facilities around the world, including in the US, Europe and Japan, that want to cooperate with the School of Economics and Political Science, and they are discussing student exchanges and joint dual-degree mechanisms with the university, Chen said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS