MCLC: exams/election conflict in Taiwan

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: bert scruggs <bscruggs at uci.edu>
Subject: exams/election conflict in Taiwan
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Colleagues, list members:

I saw a Minshi (民視) television report on the Internet yesterday that might
interest some list members.

In front of Taida (National Taiwan University) either one or two days ago
there was a student protest in the rain.  A number of universities had
scheduled final exams on election day, which (owing largely to train
fares, and time constraints) makes it seemingly impossible for students to
return to their hometowns to vote. Students also noted that the date of
the election was so close to the lunar new year that it made voting
especially expensive, since after their examinations they would again be
returning home. One student noted that a return high-speed rail ticket
would cost him NT$3,000 to NT$5,000, and that for his classmates who could
not afford a high-speed rail ticket the cost in time would be overwhelming
during final exams.  In fact as I understand it, the timing of the
election (President Ma's administration set the date) has been a
contentious issue in and of itself. Either way, the decision between Ms.
Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Mr. Ma is a pivotal decision for the future of the
23 million people living in Taiwan.

Also, for those of us working in the United States, can you imagine our
students protesting about examinations coinciding with election day?

Here is the link for the Minshi report:
http://news.ftv.com.tw/NewsContent.aspx?ntype=class&sno=2012105L05M1

Bert Scruggs