NCHU breaks ground on NT$580 million veterinary building

NCHU breaks ground on NT$580 million veterinary building

2024-04-11

National Chung Hsing University on Thursday broke ground on a new NT$580 million veterinary building, which includes a center to train animal epidemic prevention experts. Completion is slated for 2027, and after its inauguration, it will be the biggest veterinary education building of its kind in Central Taiwan. Let’s hear from the university.

Jan Fuh-jyh
National Chung Hsing University president
After construction is complete, we’ll have a specialized world-class facility for veterinary medicine and epidemic prevention. We will do our utmost to cultivate talent in epidemic prevention.

Cheng Chao-hsin
Taichung deputy mayor
With the current lifestyle trends, there’s growing demand for goods and services related to pet needs. The construction of this veterinary medicine building marks an improvement in our veterinary service capacity.

National Chung Hsing University was the first university to establish a college of veterinary medicine in Taiwan, and currently houses an important animal hospital in Taichung. The university’s original veterinary medicine building has been in use since 1980. Since then the department has outgrown the space. The new building will be a place for students to hone their skills, providing internship opportunities to potential vets. At the same time, its opening will mark a major upgrade to Taichung’s animal healthcare capacity.

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中興大學"獸醫教學醫院"今動土預計2027年底完工

2024-04-11

國立中興大學斥資5.8億元，新建「國際獸醫防疫人才培訓中心暨獸醫教學醫院大樓」，今天(11日)舉辦動土典禮，預計2027年底完工，落成後，將成為中部最大的「獸醫教育示範場域」。

[[中興大學校長詹富智]]
“將來興建之後，我們會有專門的，在國際獸醫、防疫這一塊相關的，不管在疫情，不管在人才培育，我們會投注很大的心力。”

[[台中市副市長鄭照新]]
“大家在這樣子的一個生活的需求裡面，寵物的需求也會越來越高。這樣一個醫學教學大樓的興建，其實是代表著我們獸醫服務量能的提升。”

中興大學是全台灣第一所設立獸醫學院的大學，也是台中市重要的動物醫療後送醫院，原獸醫教學醫院大樓，於1980年啟用至今，空間已經不敷使用。新建的大樓落成啟用後，不僅提供獸醫學院的學生，更多臨場實習機會，也提供台中市的寵物，更全面的醫療照顧。

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Nine years after their last meeting, Ma Ying-jeou and Xi Jinping once again came together on Wednesday. Their reunion took place at the East Hall of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, usually reserved for receiving foreign dignitaries.

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It doesn’t matter which hall they met in. Was Ma received with the respect he should’ve? Even the mention of the R.O.C. has to be covered up, as if it were a slip of the tongue. At the same time, he did not dare breach the issue of PLA aircraft and vessels constantly crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait. He’s just become another tool that China can use to ramp up pressure for its unification goals.

During his meeting with Xi, Ma made a slip of the tongue, saying “the R.O.C.” instead of “ethnic Chinese.” He also touched upon the so-called “1992 Consensus,” saying that there is one China, and that each side of the strait defines China in its own way. Xi however, has insisted on Beijing’s One China principle, which defines Taiwan as part of China. Critics say that the “different interpretations” of China can be no more.

Hung Sun-han
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What Ma Ying-jeou’s “one China with different interpretation” means is that he has to limit mentions of the R.O.C. to slips of the tongue, making it as if the R.O.C. were a misunderstanding. We shouldn’t form an alliance with the CCP, which forces the R.O.C., forces Taiwan, to accept its political positions as a prerequisite for peace.

Pundits have decried Ma’s meet with Xi, which has also captured attention from international media outlets. An expert on the Nikkei Asia is quoted as saying that Ma’s trip had encouraged Beijing to believe that its “divide and rule” approach to Taiwan had worked.

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Taiwanese business leader donates 140 emergency vehicles to Ukraine

Taiwan continues to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, more than two years since the East European nation was invaded by Russia. A Taiwanese business leader recently donated 140 emergency vehicles to the war effort. The fleet of ambulances and fire trucks are decorated with Taiwan and Ukraine flags. The vehicles were first shipped to Poland, where a Mandarin-speaking Polish influencer was able to interview several stakeholders.

A row of ambulances emblazoned with heart-shaped Taiwan and Ukraine flags. Two years after Russia invaded Ukraine, the war shows no sign of ending. Taiwan has donated lots of equipment to Ukraine. Now the chair of a Taiwanese textiles company has donated 140 ambulances and fire trucks to the East European country.

Stan
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Maksym Tkachenko
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Hu Yun-fang
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They show the whole world that Taiwan can help. We hope this will continue, and we hope in the future we can still join hand in hand with our likeminded partners.

Although Taiwan is 8,000 kilometers from Ukraine, the country has poured out a steady stream of humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

Yang Ching-teh
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All the problems Ukraine now faces could easily come to Taiwan. So we must do all we can to help Ukraine, so Ukraine can win this war, to warn China not to invade Taiwan.

As democratic countries resisting the encroachment of authoritarian aggressors, Taiwan and Ukraine have a friendship deeper than mere slogans.

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This is Kazuyuki Katayama, the new Chief Representative of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association. It’s his first visit to FTV’s Linkou headquarters, and he’s not wanting for company: along for the tour are FTV General Manager Liao Ji-fang and FTV Vice President Anne Hu. When Kazuyuki walked into the news studio, “Taiwan! Go for It!” was underway. In addition to learning about the filming process for the political talk show, a type of program that Japanese TV doesn’t have, Kazuyuki also enjoyed the rare opportunity of sitting in an anchor’s chair. He made sure to make time for a proper photo op.

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Taiwan’s largest earthquake in 25 years happened over a week ago, yet aftershocks continue to rock the entire country. On Wednesday night, the tremors caused several large rocks to fall on train tracks in Hualien, derailing a train with 146 passengers. The area that the rock fell on does not currently have a rockfall alert system. Fortunately for all involved, no injuries have been reported.

Engineers are inspecting a derailed Puyuma train. At the front left side of the train’s engine they notice the signs of a collision, which explains why the front car of this train derailed Wednesday evening.

The northbound train’s final destination was New Taipei’s Shulin Station. At 9:10 at night this train was close to Heping Station in Hualien when it struck a boulder that had fallen on the tracks, scraping its side. With their train unable to go forward, over 100 passengers had their travel plans delayed.

While waiting for another train, one rider was upset enough to yell at a train station staff member, who did his best to help the passengers calm down.

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Chan Chung-han
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The system uses artificial intelligence to monitor earthquake imagery, drawing on AI quake data training models built in Japan and Italy. It takes into account the ways that tremors are magnified in certain places in Taiwan, to optimize predictions. The system could predict that the recent quake of magnitude 7.2 in Hualien would have an intensity of 4 or over in most parts of Taiwan. Apart from making such predictions more accurate, the system will also issue its analyses faster than traditional warning systems.

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In terms of the needs of official institutions, I am confident they will be able to send information to people who need it. In six seconds, they can’t make a high-speed train slow down from 200 kilometers an hour to zero. But they can effectively reduce the speed, and maybe avoid some potential dangers.

Taiwan is in a high-frequency earthquake region. With advanced warning systems, response times are in the seconds, and every second can make a big difference in improving outcomes.

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The latest ground displacements broke no records, but they have altered Taiwan’s topography. Xincheng Station, located near the earthquake’s epicenter, recorded a horizontal shift of 8.6 centimeters and a vertical shift of 26 centimeters. At Fengbin Station, there was horizontal displacement of 4 centimeters and vertical displacement of 2.2 centimeters.

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Observations showed that the area affected by the changes was actually very large. It’s not like previous times when only a small stretch was affected. Shifts occurred over a large area, as if the Coastal Mountain Range had been pushed upward at its faults from the pressure.

According to government data, displacements weren’t limited to the East Coast. Northern monitoring stations saw shifts of 1 to 4 centimeters, while western stations saw shifts of 1 to 6 centimeters. Shifts of 1 to 2 centimeters were recorded in the south.

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When it comes to changes of just a few dozen centimeters, they are not really perceptible to most people. This isn’t like how it was after the 1999 Jiji earthquake, which lifted the ground up by several meters. Back then you could certainly notice a difference of 1 or 2 meters outside your front door.

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