National Taiwan University (NTU) on Wednesday increased the amount of indigenous ceremonial leave students can take to four days each semester, with an additional two days of multicultural leave, the NTU Student Association said yesterday.
NTU’s Student Counseling Committee approved revisions of the leave request procedures to allow two days of multicultural leave each semester for any student who can provide proof of their participation in activities such as traditional holidays, religious ceremonies and folk festivals.
It also increased indigenous ceremonial leave from one day each academic year to four days each semester for students who are indigenous, or whose spouse or parents are indigenous.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
NTU is following the example of National Chengchi University (NCCU), which was the first university in Taiwan to offer students multicultural leave. From this semester, NCCU has offered students two days of multicultural leave each academic year, and raised the number of days for indigenous ceremonial leave from one to five each academic year.
NTU should take a more proactive role in protecting and promoting diverse cultures, as it is one of the best higher education facilities in Taiwan, and has students who have a variety of national, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds, the student association said.
Multicultural leave attests to the inclusion in Taiwan, where different ethnic and religious groups respect and understand each other, it added.
To evaluate the feasibility of offering students multicultural leave, the Ministry of Education’s Education Administration last year hosted a meeting attended by experts, academics and select group representatives.
Those at the meeting determined that it would be best not to recognize particular dates as multicultural holidays due to the sheer number of faiths and festivals, but said schools should offer flexible leave out of respect for students’ needs to attend multicultural activities.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS