Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

3+1 program: Let conscripts decide

Taipei Times Editorials

To support the government’s policy of extending compulsory military service to one year, the Ministry of Education has introduced a “3+1” program where conscripts can finish college in three years and military service in one year, enabling them to graduate alongside those who do not have to serve. To achieve this, universities are required to raise the cap on the number of credits draftees can earn per semester. They should also offer summer courses and allow draftees to take classes at other colleges.

The program has drawn criticism from some quarters. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators said it would sacrifice students’ education rights and that conscripts would be “burning the candle at both ends” by juggling schoolwork and conscription. KMT Legislator Charles Chen (陳以信) added that it is sexist in nature, as women do not need to serve and would therefore not be eligible for the program.

Taiwan aims to cement US ties: President Tsai

Taipei Times

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday underscored her administration’s intent to cement Taiwan-US relations as she welcomed a delegation of US lawmakers led by US Representative Mike Rogers, chairman of the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee.

“We thank the US Congress for consistently showing bipartisan concern for Taiwan’s security and its show of support [for the nation] through concrete actions,” Tsai told the delegation at the Presidential Office in Taipei.

China’s thievery and infiltration

Yi An 儀安

In Germany, incidents of China trying to gather intelligence through educational exchanges have been exposed repeatedly over the past few years.

German Minister of the Interior and Community Nancy Faeser said that the danger was particularly considerable in the economic, industrial and science sectors, and warned that German companies, universities and research institutions should be highly vigilant.

She said that every precaution should be taken to prevent Chinese infiltration, and highlighted three priorities to enhance Germany’s security: identifying risks, averting dangers and avoiding dependencies.

Parents protest city response to child drug claims

Taipei Times

Nearly 1,000 people, mostly parents accompanied by their children, yesterday protested at the Civic Plaza outside New Taipei City Hall, voicing discontent over the city government’s handling of the alleged drugging of preschool students.

New Power Party Chairwoman Claire Wang (王婉諭) and Taiwan Children’s Rights Association director-general Wang Wei-chun (王薇君) organized the “Do Not Drug and Harm Our Children” rally after children from a private preschool in the city’s Banciao District (板橋) tested positive for traces of sedatives.

The city government took more than three weeks after it first received reports of children being sedated to provide on-campus drug testing and hold consultations with parents, Claire Wang wrote on Facebook.

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