How Has COVID-19 Affected the Fashion Industry?

 Written By 簡芝伶 Edited By 宋子瑜 傅暄淇 吳冠瑩

(English Full Names, please!)

     In the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Paris Fashion Week went on as usual. This event is held biannually. The purpose of this event is for designers to present their latest projects. October 6th marked the last day of the event, and it was also the day Paris was put on maximum alert. Although safety measures were claimed to be taken during the show, some people still questioned if this gathering would intensify the second wave of coronavirus that struck Europe.

          On October 6th, the city of Paris was raised to maximum alert after a spike in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. All the bars in town were forced to shut down, and restaurants could only stay open if they complied with strict rules imposed by the French government. Despite this, the safety regulations still allowed up to 1,000 guests to attend a public event. However, the exact number of guests at Paris Fashion Week was not confirmed.

           A global pandemic certainly did not stop fashionistas from gathering at the biannual event. The press claimed that social distancing was practiced; the seats were evenly distributed in the venue, and attendees were spotted wearing face masks. Nonetheless, the general public still questioned the safety measures of the event. This might be due to the fact that models on the catwalk were not wearing face masks while there seemed to be more than 1,000 people at the venue.

     Aurélien Rousseau, the director of the Regional Health Authority, stated that nearly 3,500 people on average have tested positive every day in Paris. Apart from that, 36% of the beds in the ICU are currently housing patients infected with COVID-19. The severity of this outbreak has changed the lives of many people, especially fashion designers. As the second wave of coronavirus strikes Europe, how will the fashion industry overcome this difficulty?

Peer Review：劉聖英 洪鈺瑄 卓悅銘 解如意

The Lungs of the Earth Have Started to Supply Carbon Dioxide

 Written By ??? Edited By ???, ???, and ???

     Environmentalists have always been concerned about preservation of the Amazon rainforest. It plays an essential role in the battle against climate change. August usually indicates the beginning of the fire season in Brazil, with most fires occurring in September. However, the wildfires in the Amazon rainforest this year are even more devastating than the previous year, as it has been emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide. 

     These wildfires are not simply natural disasters; in fact, they are ascribable to human activities which were encouraged by Brazil's President, Jair Bolsonaro. Owing to the fact that Brazil is one of the main suppliers of commodities in the world, residents earn a living by mining, farming, and animal husbandry. What’s more, to plant soybeans and raise cattle, they need to cut down trees, and this has led to environmental degradation. According to the research done by the INPE on August 20, the number of fires in Brazil in 2019 was 77% higher than in 2018. With the intention to boost economic development, the President of Brazil did not properly control the exploitation of the rainforest. This is deemed the main reason behind the ecological imbalance in the Amazon. 

     The damage done to the Amazon, also known as the Lungs of the Earth, has become the major cause behind the acceleration of climate change, as it is releasing carbon dioxide rather than oxygen to the Earth's atmosphere. Besides, due to the widespread fires in the Amazon, the rainforest has gradually lost its function of contributing 6% of the Earth’s oxygen each year and has emitted 500 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, which amounts to a 20% increase (2018). Every minute, a soccer-field size of rainforest is lost to wildfires and it will take more than a century for every loss to grow back. If the world's largest rainforest disappeared, it could bring catastrophe to weather patterns and air quality worldwide. 

     Regarding deforestation in Brazil, the Brazilian government has been criticized by European countries, as Brazil failed to abide by the Paris Agreement. Brazil promised to lower its emissions by 37% from 2005 levels by 2025, yet last year’s emissions already exceeded 17%. To deny the criticism, the Brazilian Vice President, Hamilton Mourao, planned a three-day visit to the Amazon for foreign ambassadors; however, it is claimed by the visitors that the flying route was strategically planned to avoid the damaged part of the forest. With the growth of international concern about the wildfires in the Amazon, can the Brazilian government truly implement the regulations and solve this global crisis? 

T 組 組長 ：傅暄淇 組員：宋子瑜、簡芝伶、吳冠瑩

(Peer Review) 解如意 劉聖英 卓悅銘 洪鈺瑄

An Eleven-Year-Old Iranian Boy Commits Suicide Because He Cannot Study

 Written By ??? Edited By ???, ???, and ???

An eleven-year-old Iranian boy, Mohammad Mousavizadeh, commits suicide because he does not have a smartphone to facilitate distance learning. The teacher of Mohammad Mousavizadeh asks him to turn in the homework by his smartphone. However, Mohammad Mousavizadeh does not get the smartphone that his teacher promised to give him. Therefore, Mohammad Mousavizadeh commits suicide a few days later. Iranian society is shocked after the news is released. The news highlights the issue of poverty in Iran.

Because COVID-19 has broken out all over the world, most students have to study by distance learning. Students have to use smartphones and computers to facilitate distance learning. However, more than three million students in Iran do not have electronic devices. Mohammad Mousavizadeh does not have a smartphone to access the distance-learning class due to his bad financial condition.

Recently, a similar incident occurred in the slum area. The suicide of children in slum areas becomes more common than before. For example, a twelve-year-old boy, Armin, committed suicide by taking pills the week before. His mother died of cancer because his family cannot pay the expense of medical treatment. The incident shows the poverty of Iran is quite serious.

To achieve distance learning in the slum area is hard. The people from the slum area are too poor to afford any electronic devices. By contrast, we live in a well-developed country and we have to cherish everything around us.

T組:周星池、李沛澄、邱國誠、張容慈

2020 California Wildfires

 Written By ??? Edited By ???, ???, and ???

California wildfires in 2020 have burned 4,000,000 acres of forest across the State of California. The area burned by the California fire has reached 33.5% of Taiwan. The year 2020 has witnessed the largest wildfire season in the history of California.

California wildfires have become an annual phenomenon. In the past, the fire season started from May to October. In 2020, the fire season started from January 16th to November 6th. Obviously, the California fire season in 2020 had started earlier and ended later than before. By the way, some wildfires were caused by thunderstorms; others by arsons, and still others by droughts.

The wildfires in 2020 have killed more than 26 people and have burned hundreds of houses. The California wildfires in 2020 are unprecedented gigantic wildfires in history. In addition, the scale of the wildfires is twice as big as what happened in 2018. As stated above, the wildfire in 2020 is a serious incident.

Everyone must pay more attention to both ecology and greenhouse effects. Everyone can improve the effects together. Everyone must develop good habits. For example, everyone turns off the lights before leaving home and takes the MRT instead of driving cars. Everyone can make their contribution to improving the environment. Everyone can help the earth get better by reducing the environmental pollution.

T組:周星池、李沛澄、邱國誠、張容慈

These DIY Videos Might Not Be As Good As You Think They Are

 Outlined By Harry Written By 張志皓 Edited By Judy, 郭育均

(English Full Names, please!)

            Ann Reardon, the YouTuber who hosts the channel How To Cook That, is making debunking videos to inform her viewers of the danger from viral DIY videos. The purpose of DIY videos should be harmless and helpful. In contrast, the fake DIY videos are harmful and useless. Children could hurt themselves while trying dangerous things without parents supervising. As a result, Ann decided to end this ridiculous cycle of fake DIY videos by creating debunking videos.

Several DIY videos on Youtube channels have been proven fake. For example, So Yummy and 5-Minutes Craft are the most notorious Youtube channels famous for making fake DIY videos. Both of them have an amount of 8.97 million and 69.5 million subscribers. Their videos are usually carefully edited, making it hard for viewers to distinguish truth from falsehood. 

            Although those malicious channels are still making fake DIY videos, 5-Minutes Craft has taken up a new calling and begun to debunk other questionable channels. Because 5-Minutes Craft has uploaded more than ten debunking videos this year, viewers start to believe this channel has realized the consequences of fake videos. It is thought that if 5-Minutes Craft has cared enough to improve, other channels will recognise the mistakes they made as time goes by. 

Because of Ann’s dedication to educating her viewers, they have grown aware of these fake DIY videos. Every time she uploads a debunking video, it gets millions and millions of views. In her videos, she always teaches her viewers scientific facts to prove her points. Thanks to Ann’s effort in making debunking videos, we will be more discerning when watching other DIY videos on YouTube.

 

Outline written by Harry

Article written by Harry, Judy, 張志皓, 郭育均

Articles edited by Team T & E

Team E (Entertainment & Enjoyable)

Member: Horace, Joanna, Messi, Amy

Ｔ組：

嚴仁傑、曹瑋庭、郭育均、張至皓 第一篇

Restructuring Global Supply Chain After the Covid-19 Pandemic

Written By 張志皓 Edited By Harry, Judy, 郭育均

(English Full Names, please!)

            The global supply chain crises are emerging and happening worldwide during the pandemic of Covid-19. As the Covid-19 has been deeply disturbing and hurting many companies around the world, some companies are concerned about restructuring their business partners' relationships. For example, many enterprises from the U.S. consider bringing their manufacturing factories back and reducing reliance on China. Based on the damage caused by Covid-19, companies must manage risks to prevent possible problems.

 To maximize profits, companies will consider their locations, transportation networks, and the workers' salaries. By combining these three points, the concept of an efficient global supply chain is formed--making a good product at the right place. With an efficient global supply chain, companies can gain benefits from better quality control and demand. For instance, companies need to ensure every product is checked before shipping them out overseas. If companies do not have any optimized or efficient supply chain, they may ship out defective products. Those companies are prone to lose profits after being charged with faulty products. Thus, companies should always optimize the global supply chain to maintain profits.

              On the other hand, some businesses and productions are frustrated so incredibly that the producers could no longer provide products to those who desperately need them. And this caused chain fractures. For example, Alberta, one of the Canadian beef processing places, has been impacted by Covid-19 seriously. Therefore, many workers lost their jobs, causing beef productivity to decline. Thus, the beef supply for retail, restaurants, and consumers has fallen dramatically. 

            Once the global supply chain has formed, the alternative cost will be relatively high. New companies would substitute for the old ones if the supply chain failed, resulting in irrevocable damage. During this pandemic, the stability of the global supply chain is more crucial than anything else. Thus, companies should not always consider the cost. Working together to maintain the global supply chain's stability is a pivotal move to prevent the world economy from entering a recession. It is also a fundamental solution to maintain the overall strength of the world economy.

E-books (too weak)

 Written By Joanna Edited By Horace, Amy, and Messi

(Full Names, please!)

 With the rapid development of modern technology, innovative ideas are happening every day. When it comes to cultural changes, E-books are the most representative products in this generation. E-books have replaced paper books in several areas, such as education and literary entertainment. E-books have brought a lot of convenience to our lives. 

E-books promote paperless lifestyles and workplaces that are good for the environment. E-books are also portable; all you need is a smartphone or tablet. Moreover, E-books have multimedia features, including audio, videos, and animations. With these features, E-books can increase the pleasure of reading and learning. 

            E-books have many advantages, but they still have some downsides. When we need to read two different books for comparison, paper books may be a better choice. When compared with endlessly switching screens on your mobile, paper books are a lot easier to read. You can display the contents from both of the books simultaneously in front of you.  

The invention of E-books does not eliminate the usage of paper books. Neither does television replace radio and radio stations. Nor does the video game console, Wii, make people stop playing actual sports. E-books and paper books are both evolutionary inventions. Both of them are incredibly useful to provide people with information. Therefore, we might as well grab one of them and start reading. 

E組：張皓翔 曾靖芸 吳之勻 江秉宸 第二篇

Wakaresaseya

 Written By Horace Edited By: Joanna, Amy, and Messi

(Full Names, please!)

In Japan, there is an extraordinary profession that provides you a chance to put an end to your bad relationship. Whenever people are tired of their relationship or want to save it from the other intruder, they can ask for help from the special agent. Different clients have different needs in their cases. Therefore, the service can be customized.

This unique service is called “Wakaresaseya.” It takes a great effort to make it happen. Firstly, the agent will need to do a complete background investigation into the client’s mark. Secondly, the agent will build up a team of actors to get close to and make friends with the mark. All these actions are to secure the knowledge of the target’s interests and preferences in a relationship. Lastly, the agent will follow the aforementioned information and design a perfect lover by ideal timing to lure the targets. It is like playing an RPG.

It became popular ten years ago until an agent of a Wakaresaseya agency fell in love with his target and went so far as to kill her. This shocking news led to the downfall of many Wakaresaseya agencies. Ten years later, it makes a significant comeback. Despite some persistent negative voices in society, it is gradually showing its sign of comeback on different social media.

There are more and more people seeking this exceptional service. In this modern world, people hardly have time to deal with their problems. Wakaresaseya seems to be the best way for people who are out of choices. Though Wakaresaseya is a helpful choice, people should try to be honest and deal with the problems on their own. Wakaresaseya should be the last option for people to choose.

E組：張皓翔 曾靖芸 吳之勻 江秉宸 第一篇

BeanKind: Spreading Love

Written By: 林姿攸  Edited By: 翁子晴 戴佩儀 彭婷筠

(都請提供刊登用的英文全名)

“BeanKind” is a free game that encourages people to share their love on the Internet. What’s more, it does not come with ads and no in-app purchases! It is a worldwide clicker game that you can gain “Love Taps” from other players (of the game) around the world. Certainly, you can give people your “Love Taps.” By collecting “Love Taps,” you not only unlock new characters but also receive more furniture. According to the official website, there are more than 2.2 million items of furniture for you to choose to decorate your customized room. And you can use the camera in this game to record every moment anytime.

“Bean” is the main character in this game. It combines a cute and pink body with big eyes that attract many people. It is created by the artist, Harry Hambley. He is better known as Ketnipz. He posts a series of the Bean on social media. His works of webcomics, comics post online, are funny and people always give them a knowing smile because of humor. Do you know the reason why he wants to create the “Bean”? The answer is to spread positive energy around the world. Even if the chance is small, he still wants to do that.

The design company is Frosty Pop, which is famous for game designing. They team up with Ketnipz because they have the same idea of doing something to change the world. One of the people on the team is in charge of the design of the game. Ostrow said, "When we started this company, we wanted to rethink how games, brands, and purpose come together to create things we believe in.” Therefore, this contributes to the development of the worldwide game, “BeanKind.”

This game is perfect for those who are depressed. When you feel down, you just need to start the game and share the love with other people. Then you will feel you still have someone who loves you. Moreover, decorating the room can kill a bad mood. These are the goals of Frosty Pop and Ketnipz. Especially during this pandemic time, playing this game may help you release negative vibes. In conclusion, “Bean” is like a guide for leading us to the bright side. Every little thing makes a miracle. If you feel down now, you might as well download this game right now!

E組: 翁子晴 戴佩儀 彭婷筠 林姿攸 第二篇

The Famous Movie: “Jurassic World: Dominion” Stopped Filming

 Written By: 戴佩儀  Edited By: 翁子晴 戴佩儀 彭婷筠 林姿攸 

(都請提供刊登用的英文全名)

The movie, “Jurassic World,” was one of the most famous movies released in 2015. It is a science fiction adventure movie. And its sequel, “Jurassic World: Dominion,” would come out in 2021, which was expected to take the box office by storm. The storyline of the movie, “Jurassic World,” is about lots of dinosaurs, and they have to leave their residence because of the volcano eruption. The villain wants to get Blue’s DNA, one of the dinosaurs, to create a new species. And the main characters have to rescue Blue. Unfortunately, there was an unanticipated obstacle while the first time the film crew started shooting the film. 

The sequel, “Jurassic World: Dominion,” would be postponed until 2022 because of the outbreak of the COVID-19. This is the main reason why it was postponed. This movie was mainly expected by lots of movie fans. Owing to the horrible virus, the movie industry was greatly impacted, and so was this movie. The director decided to stop shooting the film to protect the actors and the film crew. 

On July 1st, the film crew returned to shoot the film after the outbreak of the COVID-19. This was the first famous movie that restarted to film after the outbreak. But one of the film crew tested Coronavirus positive on the first day when they shot the film. Therefore, the film was forced to put on a halt again to ensure the safety of the film crew, and they were compelled to stop filming for another two weeks. This movie company also formulated an epidemic prevention manual with 107 pages for all of the film crew. 

People who look forward to seeing the movie, “Jurassic World: Dominion,” still have to wait a period. Are you still anticipating this fantastic movie after rolling with lots of punches?

E組: 翁子晴 戴佩儀 彭婷筠 林姿攸 第一篇

The Science of Interstellar

 Written By: ???  Edited By: ???, ???, ???

     Mankind has been forced to search for another inhabitable planet as the Earth reaches its capacity. Over the years, the Earth has provided resources that have secured our lives on the planet. Yet, human activity has caused great damage to the environment, and it has contributed to the destruction of our ecosystem.  Now it is time to pay the price for putting our planet in such peril by traveling to space. This non-fiction book The Science of Interstellar will take you on a journey to explore the mysteries of the universe.

     The Earth can no longer produce any food due to the loss of its arable land. At this critical moment, a group of courageous astronauts have dedicated themselves to finding a miracle in outer space. Throughout the chapters, you can see the author Kip Thorne, who is also a physicist, illustrating these physical theories in a way that is comprehensible to everyone. This is a brilliant way to help readers enjoy this book, despite having no scientific knowledge. 

     On the downside, even though the author has tried to use plain English to explain the theory that lies in the story, it is still quite difficult for readers to fully understand the narrative logic if they lack scientific knowledge. Furthermore, the book does not explain the complex timeline that was in the movie Interstellar. Those who watched the movie were apt to be confused with the timeline of events. It is true that sometimes we do not need to pay too much attention to small details, but if you are a fan of science fiction, you may find it a bit disappointing. 

     Overall, The Science of Interstellar is a great book to read if you want to untangle the questions you may have after watching the movie Interstellar. Even though some of the content may still seem a bit puzzling, you will notice that this book is full of philosophical ideas once you read it carefully. After reading the book, people may have the desire to rewatch the movie.

組長 ：劉聖英 組員：解如意 卓悅銘 洪鈺瑄 第二篇

Being Healthy and Fashionable at the Same Time

 Written By: ???  Edited By: ???, ???, ???

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, designing face masks has been in vogue. Face masks have become a necessity in our lives. They must be worn wherever we go. Those who refuse to comply with the regulation will receive a severe punishment. Hence, nowadays it is common to see people on the streets putting their masks on. This is considered a tremendous opportunity for the fashion industry to make a fortune.

Every coin has two sides; there are negative and positive sides of the pandemic. Obviously, Walt Disney has chosen to focus on the positive. The company has launched a series of cloth face masks featuring some of the most famous Disney characters. The combination of health and fashion is deemed to capture the attention of Disney fans and collectors. The reusable cloth face masks, which come in a wide range of colors as well as characters, attract more people to wear them, keeping themselves safe against the pandemic. On the other hand, the value of these face masks will rise as they are popular collectibles, especially for the complete sets. 

Furthermore, one-million-dollar profit from the masks will go to Medshare, a national non-profit organization which collects and redistributes extra medical resources from American hospitals and manufacturers to developing countries in need. Cloth masks do not help fight the pandemic as medical masks do, though some intelligent and fashionable geniuses have found a solution to this problem: they can wear a medical mask underneath the cloth mask. That way, everyone can stay protected and stylish simultaneously.

All in all, I think it is indeed a good way to encourage people, especially Disney fans, to put their masks on. In the United States, some people feel that wearing masks infringe upon human rights. They believe that the government should not force them to do something against their will. Therefore, Disney came up with this great idea, which not only encourages the public to wear masks but also offers money to charities. This is one simple act that benefits all.

Peer Review 簡芝伶 宋子瑜 傅暄淇 吳冠瑩

組長 ：劉聖英 組員：解如意 卓悅銘 洪鈺瑄 第一篇

Bread Festival: You Are My Sugar

 Written By: ???  Edited By: ???, ???, ???

This year, Yuan Ze University’s Bread Festival fell on October 28. “Sweet in the Heart” is the theme. On this day, students can not only use rolls to express their feelings but help with charity. 

The main idea of the Bread Festival is for students to spread their affection. Students are usually busy with exams and reports. This festival offers them opportunities to express their thoughts and emotions. On that special day, both male and female dormitories are allowed to visit during a limited time period. Apart from this, there will be an event with food sampling and club performances. All of these are meant to help students fit in at school, interact with each other, and even set up a transnational exchange.

For every roll sold during the festival, the school will donate 5 NTD to local charity, the World Vision Taiwan. This year, approximately 3000 rolls were sold during the Bread Festival. Yuan Ze University has already held the Bread Festival for 21 years. Students have created some implicit meanings for different rolls. For example, the meaning of a heart-shaped chocolate cake is, “To Show My Love for You”, a donut means, “You Are My Sugar” and the croissant is to say “Hey! Do Not Split Hairs.” These deeper meanings are interesting and people will have a better understanding of the Bread Festival.

All in all, Bread Festival is a significant festival for students to express their feelings, turning affection into action. Whether it is about love or public good, people can send their affection through the festival, and improve society by involving in charity work. 

D組 ：安綺、黃品瑜、鄒季恩、李玟 第一篇

Candy Hide and Seek

 Written By: ???  Edited By: ???, ???, ???

Chen Ru-Yu, a student of Shih Hsin University won the second place for advertising in the renowned
Prix de la Photography Paris. Chen connects sweets with daily life. She thinks sweets can make people feel good, that is why she choose sweets as her theme. The fascinating idea of the artwork offers her the opportunity to stand out from other competitors. This is an impressive achievement for Shih Hsin and herself.

The idea of “Candy Hide and Seek”, her award-winning artwork, was inspired by our daily life. The idea that she turns daily objects into sweets makes the picture interesting. When we take a closer look, we can find out that there are some sweets hiding in the picture, it is  not paint but skittles are squished out of the tube! Chen uses high-contrast colors to structure the picture, creating a strong sense of conflict. Chen’s professionalism in photography helps her create such a special picture.   

           Chen’s award proves that she is creative and brilliant. She makes Shih Hsin University proud. There are many professional photographers in Taiwan, from Shih Hsin University. “This is because Shih Hsin is the pioneer of professional photography, and we have the best courses for it”, said the Chair of Graphic Arts Communication in Shih-Hsin. In the future, there will be more competitors from Shih Hsin University to enter international competitions.

Chen Ru-Yu sets a good example for us. Her story encourages us to take part in various competitions, showing our talent. It is not only an opportunity to prove our talent but also a good way to show how well we have been educated by Shih Hsin University. 

D組 ：安綺、黃品瑜、鄒季恩、李玟 第二篇

Taiwan Government Will Increase the Child Care Subsidy in 2021

 Written By: ???  Edited By: ???, ???, ???

In 2021, our government will increase the child care subsidy to raise the birth rate. The subsidy will be raised from NT$2,500 to NT$5,000 per month. Although the government will increase the subsidy, newlywed couples still do not want to have a child. Nowadays, people are busy with their work, they do not have time to take care of their child. The child care center seems a good choice for parents.

The policy makes parents face the dilemma of choosing a private child care center or a public child care center. However, some parents cannot afford the tuition fee of a private child care center. The tuition fee of a private child care center costs NT$15,000 to NT$17,000 per month. A public child care center only costs NT$9,000 per month. Entering a public child care center is hard because the number of private child care centers is more than the public ones. Recent statistics show that there are 956 private child care centers and 235 public child care centers in Taiwan. 

This policy does not help Taiwan increase the birth rate. Raising children depends on having a stable income. Parents cannot afford the expensive tuition fee of a private child care center and entering a public child care center is hard. Thus, they want to take care of their child by themselves. If parents quit their jobs and focus on taking care of their children, families will run into financial difficulties. 

Increasing the child care subsidy is not the only way to help Taiwan. Our government must increase the number of public child care centers and build a complete child care system. The policy has to be comprehensive and meet the needs of most parents.

A組:楊淳惠 佘冠融 何芷綺 葉若玲 第二篇

Child Rapist Cho Doo-Soon to Be Released From Jail

 Written By: ???  Edited By: ???, ???, ???

   In the notorious Cho Doo-Soon Case, an eight-year-old girl was victimized. Cho Doo-Soon, the criminal, kidnapped and sodomized the girl. He claimed that he was drunk and he did not know what he did to the little girl. The judges sentenced him to only twelve years in prison. He is to be released on December 13, 2020. Can this kind of person be released from jail?

Cho Doo-Soon sodomized the girl in a cruel way. Because of the serious harm, the poor little girl had to get the medical treatment of colostomy. He brought her to the bathroom then took off her pants and clothes. He punched her face then sodomized her. The little girl was found by her parents and they took her to the hospital. She got serious injuries all over her body. 

The government makes the “Cho Doo-Soon Law” which clearly stipulates that all the violent criminals must wear the electronic tagging. They will be monitored by police officers after being released. However, criminals might unlock the electronic tagging and commit crimes again. Even the criminals wear the electronic tagging, the fear of the people still cannot be eliminated. 

Everyone has to take such child molestation seriously, take action, and condemn the people who claim that they commit crimes because they are drunk. There is no excuse for a reduced sentence. Whether the effect of electronic tagging is limited or not, it shows that the government takes this case really seriously and really does something for society. We cannot indulge criminals like Cho Doon-Soon by allowing them any reduced sentence, not only in South Korea, but around the world.

A組:楊淳惠 佘冠融 何芷綺 葉若玲 第一篇

The First Step Toward The Future: Internship

 Written By: ???  Edited By: ???, ???, ???

 Getting an internship is one of many goals for college students because it can bring lots of benefits to their future. Furthermore, in modern times, companies prefer people who have related experiences and skills. Therefore, to college students, getting an internship is quite important.    

Through an internship, college students not only realize their interests but also enhance their people skills. Such experience is helpful for them to know the characteristics of different workplaces and to acquire related abilities. From the process of an internship, they can find the direction of their future, learn the ability to communicate, and improve their teamwork. At the same time, they can also understand the operation of companies and acquire problem-solving abilities.

This is the reason why college students are seeking an internship, even if it takes them a lot of time. Huang Yu-Ying, for example, who majored in the Finance Department of Feng Chia University, had longed for the banking industry since she was a child. She took an internship at Chang Hwa Commercial Bank in 2017. Through this internship, she not only had further knowledge about the banking industry but also learned the professional operation of the banking industry. She confirmed that this experience in the banking industry was her aspiration.

To sum up, getting an internship is good for college students to gain valuable experiences. They can experience the working environment in advance, realize what they lack, and strengthen themselves. Therefore, college students should seize the opportunity to get an internship.

A組：陳勇翰 葉明翰 陳任中 第二篇

“Long-Term Care 2.0” Policy In Taiwan

 Written By: ???  Edited By: ???, ???, ???

In view of the increasing elderly population in Taiwan’s aging society, the government is introducing its “Long-Term Care 2.0” policy. This policy improves the services of "Long-term Care 1.0” and increases other services on the basis of "Long-term Care 1.0.” Originally, “Long-term Care 1.0” offers the elderly home care service, daycare service, meal delivery, etc. And in the “Long-Term Care 2.0” policy, it adds the dementia care service, preventive care service, and hospice care service. Although “Long-term care 2.0” is better than “Long-term Care 1.0,” it still needs further improvement.

The goal of the policy is to establish a sound long-term care system to cope with problems of our aging society, and to ease the financial burden of families in demand of such care. Compared to the “Long-Term Care 1.0,” the “Long-Term Care 2.0” integrates each independent care service together, and establishes a system to organize these services to a set. For families with long-term care needs, the government provides them with subsidies. In this way, people not only get the whole service easily but also buy it cheaply.  

However, the “Long-Term Care 2.0” policy still faces problems in terms of manpower, budget, and so on. These problems are considerable challenges for “Long-term care 2.0.” With the growing numbers of the elderly, the manpower of the care services cannot cater to their needs anymore. In addition, all nursing homes are not included in the “Long-term care 2.0” budget arrangement, so the situation may cause some safety problems, such as the fire accident in the Neihu nursing home on September 22. 

Therefore, to really make things easier for family members and caregivers, the government should improve the policy immediately. The “Long-term care 2.0” policy should be improved in all aspects so that the government can handle the increasing elderly population. In this manner, the policy can improve the quality of life for the elders and caregivers.

A組：陳勇翰 葉明翰 陳任中 第一篇

The Aim of Going to College

Written By: ???  Edited By: ???, ???, ???

The aim of being a college student is to become the top of the pyramid. There is a pyramid set that has four stratum which can distinguish four different kinds of learning conditions. At the top of the pyramid is specializing in a few fields. Second, is specializing in one field of study. Third, is learning different skills but not specializing in them. Last, is learning one thing without gaining any real knowledge. 

The reason why we have to be at the top of the pyramid is because of three important dimensions: education, job, and money. Education is a stepping stone of finding a job. Finding a job will allow us to have enough money to pay our expenses of living. For example, expenses like food, clothing, housing, transportation and so on. All the steps are for living independently. Everyone must work and earn money to bear living expenses, or just become a NEET, an abbreviation for “Not in Education, Employment or Training.” If we start working right after high school instead of entering university, we will not have enough education to get a decent job. 

To find employment, we must have abilities in some fields. No one will pay a salary for a person who does not have any skills. If we do not have any skills and a minimum level of education, which is a Bachelor’s degree, we will spend most of our time working for a minimum wage. Our life will be a vicious cycle of not earning enough money to pay for necessary life expenses. 

In conclusion, the aim of studying in university should be to gain multiple talents and skills. Students should take advantage of the four years spent in university to concentrate on learning and self-improvement. After graduating from university, the degree and knowledge of different fields will help a new graduate get a job.

組員：陳宜幸、曾詠嬪、陳昕瀅、魏含芳 第二篇

Fake Meat Can Be the Savior

Written By: ???  Edited By: ???, ???, ???

 Recently, Beyond Meat has become quite popular all over the world. Beyond Meat is a company founded by Ethan Brown in California in 2009. He wants to solve some problems caused by the meat industries. Beyond Meat produces plant-based meat substitutes. It has received investments from venture companies. The products of Beyond Meat are sold in supermarkets in the U.S. as well as in other countries.

 To reduce global warming, lots of people choose to become vegetarians. They want to reduce the pollution of the earth by consuming alternative proteins. Therefore, Beyond Meat came into being. There are three advantages of Beyond Meat. First, Beyond Meat is easily available in Taiwan. Second, the texture of Beyond Meat is similar to real meat so that it can be widely accepted. Third, the biggest advantage of Beyond Meat is that it can decrease carbon emissions by substituting animal meat. Animals produce too much carbon emissions through digestive processes.

 Beyond Meat is a highly processed food, containing saturated fat, so it may damage our health. In order to make its texture and taste closer to the real meat, Beyond Meat adds some artificial flavorings. Such as phosphate (磷酸鹽) and sodium ions (鈉離子), the former causes kidney diseases and the latter may cause high blood pressure.

 In conclusion, Beyond Meat influences our daily life, both positively and negatively. Beyond Meat can be a new choice for people’s diet. It is an interesting choice to try while you are out of choice.

A組： 陳宜幸、曾詠嬪、陳昕瀅、魏含芳 第一篇

We Are in the Endgame Now

By Woo Jiwoo

Have you ever watched the movie “Avengers: Endgame”? It’s about the Avengers fighting with Thanos, the villain, and there is only one way in 14 million for Avengers to win. Likewise, we are at war against COVID-19 now and I think vaccine is our only way to survive.

The whole world has been suffering from a highly contagious infectious disease called COVID-19 since the beginning of this year. This coronavirus usually causes a mild respiratory illness like influenza and it also can lead to a severe respiratory condition that requires hospitalization. It is usually compared with the other coronavirus, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that COVID-19 is less fatal but much more infectious. Three of them have something in common that all of them still have no treatment and vaccine. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 12, which means the worldwide spread of a new disease. It was the first to declare pandemic since the H1N1 flu in 2009, which killed hundreds of thousands globally. Since there are still more than 200,000 new cases reported every day, people are wondering when we can get the vaccine of the virus.

There are about 165 vaccines developing against the COVID-19 all around the world, and 31 vaccines have already started human trials. It took 4 years to make a vaccine which was the fastest and it typically takes years to produce a safe and effective vaccine, but scientist all around the world are racing to produce the coronavirus vaccine; therefore, it is estimated to be available by the end of this year. There are several stages to produce a vaccine: preclinical testing, phase 1 safety trials, phase 2 expanded trials and phrase 3 efficacy trials. Scientists give the vaccine to animals first to see if it produces an immune response and then give it to from small number of people to hundreds and thousands of people. Researchers combined phases to accelerate the pace of development, which means they tested for the first time directly on hundreds of people. 

There are 6 candidates in the last stage of human trials before approval: three from China, one from the UK and two from the US. For instance, Moderna, a Massachusetts-based biotechnology company, is developing its mRNA-1273 vaccine, which kicked off Phase 1 the first. It will be tested its efficacy and safety in 30,000 people in different cities around the United States. 

Instead of running all of 3 clinical trials by the book, Russia government announced that the vaccine developed by the Moscow-based Gamaleya Institute Fund named Sputnik V approved for public use the first time in the world. President Vladimir Putin says his own daughter has already received it and Russia claims that volunteers in the Phase 1 and 2 trials appeared safe and triggered an immune response after taking the vaccine, and there was no unforeseen or unwanted side effects. However, the scientific data of the vaccine is not released and the fact that the vaccine did not even begin the Phase 3 stage made experts skeptical about the unprecedented speed of the vaccine’s approval. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte appeared keen to try Sputnik V publicly and is willing to volunteer receiving it himself. 

The unexpected approval of Russian vaccine made people doubtful about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. According to Jerome Kim, the director general of the International Vaccine Institute, shortening the timeline of making vaccine has its pros and cons. If a premium is placed on speed, an effective vaccine may be approved sooner, but it contains risk. Vaccines are given to healthy people, so we cannot compromise on safety. “The first packages of the medical vaccine… will be received within the next two weeks, primarily for doctors,” Said Russia’s Health Minister Mikhail Murashko. In my opinion, I wouldn’t try Sputnik V on my body since it has not been sufficiently tested. The most important thing isn’t about being the first one, it’s about having a safe one. I hope everyone in the world can get the safe and effective vaccine equally as soon as possible that we can get to meet our families and friends without anxiety.

The Most Prolonged Winter Vacation: the Particular Time of the Quarantine

By Odelette Wang

Today I filled the 184th daily health form. It was the most extended winter vacation I have ever had that I have been in my hometown for three seasons.

Since February 11th, every day, we are obliged to check body temperature and report the personal location to ensure that we students are in a good physical condition. If someone forgets to finish it, there are volunteer students to inform them immediately by telephone. 

In this special semester, we have to stay with our parents for eight whole months. Most of us already got used to living alone and enjoying life without being governed by parents. However, at this special time, we have no alternative but to go back to our teenager time, and even worse, all the residents were locked at home. Hence there was no time to breathe the fresh air of freedom. 

During these few months, we finally had more opportunities to hang out frequently with friends in the hometown. After graduating from high school, we were separated to accept better education. Now, thanks to the quarantine, me and my old friends could spend more time on sharing information and emotions. However, when there is enough time to be with old friends, I started missing my new friends in the college. Maybe the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence.

Most of the restaurants are already opened as usual. Still, a few months ago, there were strict restrictions on the number of people in the restaurant. In some places, a group of people may be divided into four people at each table, or they would not be allowed to eat in the restaurant.

For those who eat at home, there still existed something inconvenient. For example, due to the quarantine policy, some communities only allowed one person in each family to go out each day. They handed out a particular pass card to curb population flow, which means people have to buy adequate food at one time to maintain the demands of daily living.

Suppose the residents were afraid of taking high risks to go out. In that case, there is an online market in Taobao, which is cooperated with the local supermarket. Consumers were supposed to book all the food they want in advance, and the staff of the supermarket would deliver the package to their home in the appointed time the next day. The problem was that there were enormous demands while the number of goods and deliverers were limited. As a consequence, we have to stare at the screen all the time and make sure both the food and time to deliver are available. Furthermore, on account of that, customers were not able to ask deliverers to help them pick out vegetables and fruits carefully, the quality of the food could not be guaranteed.

To prevent the spread of the virus, in February, all the recreational places, as well as scenic spots, were closed to keep social distancing. I have stayed at home all month long in lockdown time. Given this, taking exercises regularly was of great significance. I did setting-up exercises every day, no matter how anxious I was at that time, a few minutes workout was enough to calm me down. The workout is always the best therapy.

Under the outbreak, we can only find joy amid hardship.

Finally, Our School Is Re-Opened

                      By Odelette Wang

This May, our school finally announced that we are going to start our new semester on August 22nd, which is almost two weeks earlier than ever before.

Although this semester our school postponed back-to-school date owing to the epidemic, all the classes began on February 16th as planned. The only difference was that students went online to study.

Studying at home sounds enviable. In my imagination, I did not have to worry about staying up late anymore, and there was no need to save time for walking to the teaching buildings. But things were not that simple. Because teachers could not see students face-to-face, they were more concerned about student’s learning progress. As a result, the amount of homework was increased significantly. Every week, we had to upload lecture notes on the network education platform as well as hand in a report or article once a month. Furthermore, along with live interactive courses, there were selected recorded courses and corresponding homework for us to finish. Students were loaded with too much academic burden during the outbreak.

There is a distinct advantage that due to almost all the courses were put online. Theoretically, we can enter all the classes around the world, and meaningful courses could be shared between friends. Recommended by my friend, who is major in journalism in a Wuhan university, I attended tutorials on urban communication. This course refreshed my cognition to urban planning that even a street lamp has its connotational meanings. Besides, our teacher also recommended plenty of relevant MOOCs as an addition after class. 

For most courses, the online class is more than sufficient. However, there were still some subjects that were barely learning on the Internet is far from adequate, for instance, the P.E. class. One of my friends chose the Chinese traditional health-keeping course. Their P.E. teacher asked them to practice five-animal exercises, which is created by doctor Hua Tuo in nearly 2,000 years ago.

After demonstrating all the details in the class, the teacher uploaded relevant video clips to help students practice at home. At the next class, it was quite fun to see all of the classmates standing before the camera and playing those ancient motions in their bedroom.

When it came to how to take final exams, teachers argued for almost a month. They then reached a compromise that because the coursework was added, the proportion of general performance played a more critical role than in the past. Because there was no chance to take the closed-book exam, the form of final was adjusted inevitably. Some teacher assigned us a course paper; others chose to take exams online with essay questions. Nevertheless, some exams were postponed to the next semester - it was the worst way. 

When we heard that this semester the school would not open and the accommodation fee had been refunded to the student’s account, we were disappointed. From that day we have been following up on the news of each school. Even if the slightest sign of good news, we were very excited and always felt that, finally, it going to be our turn.

Being away from school for so long, we have to rearrange our plans that have been disrupted, including our daily arrangements and future study preparation. Fortunately, the school is about to start, at least there is something to count on.

Travel Issues Behind COVID-19

By Tsai Peiyi

  Summer vacation used to be a good time for people to travel abroad. However, this year,
influenced by COVID-19, almost every country is lockdown. People had nowhere to go. While millions across the world can only stay at home. Even so, there are some countries that are actually doing really well in controlling the epidemic. For example, Taiwan. Taiwan was almost the first country to do epidemic prevention measures against COVID-19. Nevertheless, the aviation industry and tourism industry of Taiwan still have a huge impact. 

Due to COVID-19, Taiwan banned transit travel on March 24, After that, the first quarter of this year, China Airlines and EVA Air are tragically lost. Not only the aviation industry took a hit but also the tourism industry.  COVID-19 has hit out against the operation of inbound and outbound travel agencies. During the recession, both industries announced the layoff of several hundred employees. Fortunately, the government had found this issue, the government launched a relief package for companies and employees. In addition, the government budgeted NT$ 13.4 billion for coupons and vouchers to help boost consumption. After a few months, the epidemic has been ebbing. Both the aviation industry and tourism industry have rolled out different schedules for people to travel in Taiwan during summer vacation. For instance, StarLux Airlines launched a "pretend tour abroad" to Dongsha Islands. The flight headed south along the coast of eastern Taiwan. It allows passengers to enjoy Taiwan's landscape from above. Also,  EVA Air and China Airlines have rolled out Father’s day schedules, which can have meals at the airport's VIP lounge before having afternoon tea on board the plane. 

Apart from airlines schedules, many people choose to travel to offshore islands. Taiwan's offshore islands are very beautiful, including Green Island (Lüdao) , Lanyu Orchid Island (蘭嶼), Kinmen (金門, Jinmen) , Matsu and Penghu archipelago. Here will introduce Taiwan's offshore islands. 

● Green Island (Lüdao, 綠島) 

Green Island, also known as 火燒島(Island of Fire), because it is a small volcanic Island. The administration belongs to Taitung County. Covering an area of 16 square kilometers.The largest and oldest known living coral population worldwide is stands 18 meters below Green Island. 

In Green Island, you can go to a hot spring in Jhaorih Hot Spring. Jhaorih Hot Spring is a rare saltwater hot spring in Taiwan. Also, you can go diving in the Chaikou Diving Area. Last, you can see the lighthouse. Everything here is romantic. 

● Lanyu, Orchid Island (蘭嶼)

Lanyu, which is located on the southeastern coast of Taiwan. Also called Orchid Island or Irala. Irala is named by Tao. Tao is the Taiwanese indigenous people who lived in Lanyu. Irala means sea. The average number of rainy days each year in Lanyu is 244 days. The rock on the island is volcanic tholeiite andesite and explosive fragments.

Lanyu is one of the best destinations for scuba diving and snorkeling in the world. Lanyu is completely surrounded by numerous, unpolluted coral reefs and home to green sea turtles. There are 35 tropical plant species unique to the island. If you are a nature lover, you should go to explore this friendly and safe island. You will fall in love with it.

● Kinmen (Jinmen,金門) 

Kinmen, also named Quemoy, covering the total area of 151.656 square kilometres.      Kinmen is subtropical monsoon climate, the weather there is hot and humid. Actually, Kinmen is closer to China, it is located only about two kilometres east of the China city of Xiamen. 25% of Kinmen is national park. 

If you go to Kinmen, you have to go to Jincheng Township. Jincheng Township is the largest and oldest town in Kinmen. The Buildings and culture there are so vintage. There are many small roads that you will feel like walking in a maze. Also, you can found Shisa (風獅爺) in everywhere. There were many wars in Kinmen before. So there are a lot of historical remains about batteries, tanks and fighter aircrafts. If you are interested in war culture, you should come here.

● Matsu (馬祖)

Matsu is located  north of the Taiwan Strait. Total area is 29.6 square kilometers. Matsu is made up of 36 small islands. It is the smallest county in the free area of the Republic of China. 

Environment of Matsu is so great that you can watch Blue Tears at Beihai Tunnel from April to September. Besides, northernmost of Taiwan is in Matsu. People can take a photo and check in there.

● Penghu archipelago (澎湖)

Penghu archipelago is located on Taiwan Strait. Magong is the largest city, which is in the largest island. The largest island is also named Magong. The total area covered 41 square kilometers. Because of geography, national defense, military and strategic location is excellent. Since ancient times, it has been a relay station for contacts the Taiwan Strait, a fortress zone for economic and military rivalry with all parties. 

You can do a lot of things in Penghu. Ride a bike from Magong's Rainbow Bridge along the bicycle path beside the seashore. You will get perfect views across the water to Xiyu Island. The sea around Penghu is a saturated turquoise and the sand coral (so pack beach footwear). Besides, Penghu is famous for its local delicacies, the seafood there is  top-notch fresh. The best part of Penghu is the Penghu Firework Festival. The festival lasts three months, start from 9th July to third September. A lot of couples and families will come to Penghu during the firework festival.

As introduced above, we can know that Taiwan’s offshore islands are very beautiful. People who have been there will be highly recommended. However, too many people go to these islands. Therefore, these islands have lots of problems now. For example, park the car in a disorderly, heavy traffic, litter trash, blackout. Not only make residents annoying, but also ruin the environment. Hope that people who go to travel can remember to pay more attention to environmental issues. Also, don't make trouble for residents.

What Can We Learn as a Student in the times of the Pandemic?

By Ciou Peiyi

Since the covid-19 spread out the whole world, most of country seems like paused time. But not include Taiwan. It is so lucky that we still can keep our life pace as usual. And as a student, it is also important that obverse what happened in our campus. So today will explore what we can see from our campus after the outbreak of covid-19.

Though we have related politics against school, it still hard to make sure if your classmate, your teacher, even your roommate have confirmed. In this situation, our campus take precaution immediately, they arrange teacher or security officer to every entrance, and they will take your body temperature first, if it have nothing problem, that they will stamp on your skin. It is like a gate pass to prove that you are safe and healthy that are allowed to go into campus. And they asked everyone to wear their mask than they can enter the class. The college also decline every person who is not the school’s student to enter. In many kind of precaution like this, our school survived in this pandemic. But we still not safe completely if Covid-19 have not finish yet. We still need to make sure the mask is wore, hands are cleaned, our mindset is still keep alert.

We can active if we wear our mask, but it is still nervous when someone cough or sneeze next to you. How do we know he or she is not in incubation period? It makes people panic. Without even saying that always someone sneeze when they were not wear mask. So, the school’s manner is separate us on the class as much as possible. We may have to sit next to vacant seat, and it called ‘Plum Blossom seat’. It is not only apply on class or school, it can be seen in theater or any kind of large social area.

We have better situation to make our life still can ran as usual, but we still have to prepare for the worst scene. During the semester, teachers tried to find a application that can have class online. At the beginning, most of teachers tried to trust a application called ’Zoom’, but the application, just totally disappointing everyone who trusted it, it pointed out that may steal every information you give to it, and send back to the headquarters in Beijing and convenient for everything awful. In a hand, the covid-19 makes our lifestyle more closer to internet. But on the other hand, it is more problems that we need to be careful and avoid.

If You Are A Student Here, Will You Accept It?

By Ciou Peiyi

It’s a very confusing year all over, our university is not exceptional. We can’t tell if it is good or not, but only can observe for now. During this semester, it happened many things, today we can organizing several things that matters to share with you. And letting people more realize what situation our college have now.

In June 2020, Our school decided to renovation of research room, and recording to their explanation, they are planning to turn the research room into reading room. After this news, the graduate students of our university felt disrespected, they reacted to the Student Union first, so the Student Union proposed to school to hold a public hearing meeting so that can collect students’ thought. But the Vice-Chancellor answer them’ there is no need to do that.’ And refuse their suggest. This action caused the dissatisfaction of most graduate students.

At the beginning, graduate students were tried to use proper process to protest the behavior of school. As of June 29th ago, 600 people had signed up to ask the school, pause the works and listen to students opinions. And also disclose the decision-making process and project-related information. Although the school stopped the projects for a while, their announce statement tried to indicate students just want to exclusive the research room and force school to compromise with students imply. This makes students rage about them, so the students they started to took various way to protest, but it doesn’t make things better, the school are tearing the research room down during this summer vacation.

Another thing makes students furious is about the graduation certificate, when school distributes graduation certificates of this year’s graduates, they use clear holders with Shih Hsin University’s logo to cover the graduation certificate, but not traditional hard material packaging. But in most of students thoughts, the graduation certificate not just a sheet to prove our graduated, but also means a sense of honor. No one wants that if they show their graduation certificate to friends or company in the future, they only have a L folder to show everyone.

We love this place and this school, but sometimes school policy will makes people feel disappointed and frustrated. But we still holding our hope to school, so that we are trying to keep watching every movement from the school.

An Unwise Decision: National Medical Care Available for International Patients

By Hsu Hsin I

Since the outbreak of Covid-19 is well-controlled by Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC)
epidemic prevention and treatment, CECC office announce that foreign patients are welcome to seek medical care in Taiwan with certain conditions from August 1st, which made our medical personnel appeal to postpone implementation.

Putting our medical personnel in danger in order to cooperate with helping foreign patients is unwise because our personnel cannot take any risk of getting infection during this serious situation. Besides, the medical resources is valuable and limited that it could not afford too many patients. Not only foreigners visit Taiwan for treatment has an impact on health care system, but also residents are worried the transmission would be expanded after foreign patients come.

According to the report, there are 39 increase of confirmed cases within three months in Taiwan, and people presume that the novel coronavirus would spread rapidly and out of controlled if the official insist on provide medical care to foreign patients. As stated above, many people are annoying about the decision, trying to appeal to CECC office stop it.    

Instead of helping people from worldwide, CECC office should try to do more effort on epidemic prevention completely. To be honest, Taiwan better minds our own business before the epidemic ebb.

  

Capital Punishment Must Be Advocated

By Hsu Hsin I

  Retaining capital punishment is in order to curb crime, and thus capital punishment has been retaining in criminal law for long time. In addition to deter crimes, capital punishment can also prevent criminals from committing crimes once again. Therefor, Taiwan has to advocate for death penalty to deter crime rate.

  To discuss whether Taiwan government should advocate capital punishment or not, I extremely support our government retain this criminal law. First of all, death penalty has an effect on the social environment include limit people’s behavior and prevent people from commit felonious crime. Second, when criminals are sentenced to death, it warns both criminals and people that no one could violate and flout law. 

  According to some science research, people never change. “Personality is part of our biology. Life events still influence our behaviors, yet we must acknowledge the power of personality in understanding future behavior as well.” Christopher Nave, a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Riverside, said. For instance, criminals who use to do larceny crime would never change unless they are sentenced to death. That is to say, death penalty may not control everyone’s thoughts, but it still limits people’s behavior, trying to force them follow the rules.  

  The criminal in murder case at Huashan grassland was sentenced to death in the beginning. However, the judge sentenced the murderer to life imprisonment in second instance because he turned himself in. This judgement was hard to convince both crime victim and most of people because the man who murdered and dismembered the victim should not be forgiven at all. People could not be convinced by the judgement because the criminal did commit sexual assault and dismember crime, which had to sentence to death in criminal law.

  The judgement report in April 7th, 2020 of Huashan dismember case reminds people again how important death penalty is, and it has to be advocated in our criminal law. People all knows that without carrying out capital punishment to criminals who deserve it, there would be more people try to break law and imitate criminal offence. Capital punishment, the most severe punishment has to retain for its effect of crime prevention and warns people do not violate law.

The Potential Virus: No Viewer Is Innocent

By Odelette Wang

According to the investigation of the Nth Room Scandal, more than 260,000 people in South Korea had watched these videos, and more than 10,000 women had been treated as sexual slaves. There’s an analogy that there are about 260,000 taxis in Korea, meeting a Nth room member is as frequent as seeing a taxi on the street.

The audience is not innocent. If they do not regularly upload their own pornographic video, they will be kicked out of the chat room. Some chat rooms will charge viewers up to 1.5 million won for the viewing fee. In the meantime, the personal information of the victims, including their schools and work places, will also be made known to the viewers as membership bonus. It can be said that these viewers are like potential viruses. In the beginning, they watch videos out of curiosity. After receiving the victims’ information, which could trigger their animal nature, they are likely to become rapists in real life. Among the 260,000 members who entered the Nth room, there are community service workers, policemen and senior officials who are obliged to secure people’s lives and safety.

It was alarming that when the Nth Room Scandal came to light, the disgusting devils who regard women as playthings felt that they are vilified. Even now, a multitude of people excuse those perverted acts in terms of “I watch whatever I want” or “protect subculture”. Of course, there’s no shame in meeting physical needs. The shame lies in is that countless rapes and sexual abuses in the Nth Room are targeted at teenagers or even infants; it is a sex crime. It is a pity that until now many people have not realized the essence of the Nth Room. Instead, they promoted victim-blaming, kept slut-shaming to those women, and insisted that viewers are innocent. Silent onlooking is already a crime, not to mention that they constantly upload crime videos in order to stay in the chat room. Once entering the Nth Room, they are not only the audience, but have become active bloodthirsty beasts. They are the next GodGod, the next Watchman, and the next Doctor. In this extremely secretive transmission, not a specific woman is persecuted, but all women have been discriminated.

In addition to those 260,000 viewers, the opinions from the outside are thought-provoking. Apart from the distortion of the organizer’s human nature, the indifference of the netizens indicates that there’s something wrong with the whole society. If you enter the keyword “the Nth Room” on Weibo, there will be a bunch of people jump out, claiming that they have relevant video clips. It seems that while most people cry out against the criminals, there are still a few people vying to be one of the 260,000. This is just ironic! In this patriarchal society, women are always being judged, objectified, and treated as prey the dark desire of men, while men are always being covered up, forgiven, and win the compromise from women.

If these cold-blooded viewers are not exposed one by one, it will be cruel to the victims and it will also have an extremely negative influence on the public. A lenient sentence is an encouragement for the next crime. The Nth Room is only one step away.

In a Patriarchal Society, Any Woman, Any Homosexual Can Be the Next Victim

By Ciou Peiyi 

Since the coronavirus(covid-19) outbreak, it’s been three months. During these days , things that makes us afraid not just virus, but also – Nth-Room case in Korea

It has been three months since the first outbreak of the Coronavirus (Covid-19). While the whole world is still in shock, another knocker comes to deal another blow—the Nth Room Sex Scandal in South Korea.

The Nth Room Sex Scandal was a digital crime committed via a software program--Telegram, which provides a cloud-based and real-time system of text and voice messaging service. Sex video clips are illegally shared in categories labeled from the “1st Room” up to the “8th Room,” hence the name of the scandal—the Nth Room. There was even a “Doctor’s Room” in additional to the aforementioned 8 rooms. The 8 rooms were maintained by God God; the Doctor’s Room was maintained by Doctor. While the former disappeared with their administrator from the Internet in September, 2019, the latter stayed on the Internet as late as when its administrator Doctor (now identified as Cho Joo-Bin) was arrested by the Police.

According to anonymous sources. It was an organized crime in which the criminals blackmailed dozens of women, forcing them to make sexually explicit videos. Most of the victims were  very young. The youngest victim was only 11 years old.

The tortures inflicted on them were beyond our worst imagination. He “wrote” on the skin of the girls with a knife by leaving deep cuts that formed words like “slave” or “Doctor” to show to his charged members on his on-line channel that the video clips were all masterpieces produced by none other than him, the Doctor. It is beyond reason, ethics, morality, or any quality that defines us human to commit such a crime. The administrator of those rooms has become the public enemy; those who paid for their memberships as viewers of those video clips were definitely accomplices who likewise shamed the entire humanity. According to police investigation, the Doctor’s bank statement showed 3.2 billion bitcoin (1: 190,000; bitcoin to won). And yet, it turned out to be a distracting account to keep the police from knowing the main one, whose statement might amount to a greater sum of money/bitcoins. It reveals a horrible fact behind the horrifying crime: there were devils who paid for the show and there were devils who got paid to make it. Evil was brewed in cycle.

According to news reports, the master villain Doctor, Cho Joo-Bin, ruthlessly tortured the women by night but worked as a volunteer for charity by day. He was once even  interviewed by online media because he helped orphans and the handicapped. He shamelessly and manipulatively said that because he received a lot of help from others, he wanted to help people in return. It is both sickening and saddening to know the mind behind such a crime and to know such hypocrisy he is capable of. 

After the exposure of this horrifying crime, the Child Welfare League Foundation (CWLF) started to take its action by proposing to the government an amendment of related laws:

1. Strenthten penalties and punishments related to making, owning, and sharing sex video images involving exploitation of children.

2. Introduce preventing, processing, investigating, and tracking therapeutic systems to cope with kidnappings, missing children, and runaway teens.

3. The Executive Yuan to establish and be in charge of an organization exclusively dedicated to the functioning of children’s safety and related on-line issues.

The Nth Room sex crime is not the first court case of its sort, and certainly won’t be the last. As we are alarmed by Coronavirus, we should also be on alert to make of an all-out prevention of similar crimes and of any potential double jeopardy done to the victims and hurt them any further.

The Orientation for an Explanation of the English Department’s New Name

 

By Hsu Hsin I 

The English Department in Shih Hsin University had been planning to rename itself into The Department of English and Applied Communication since last year. People can not live without the Internet. Our heavy dependence on computer programs and smartphone apps proves that it is already something inseparable from our life. We have to spend time studying both language and communication in order to make the most of the Internet resources. By emphasizing both language and communication educations, we plan to enhance our competitive advantage on the job market.

However, biting off more than we can chew is not the way to enhance our competitive advantage. We are living in the Google Age, everyone can go online and find information they need. What make it an academic burden on our shoulders? Maybe focusing on communication is a better idea? Since as English majors, we are aware that language is a tool for communication and a tool to record all human traces in the development of civilization. For such significance of language, students should gain sufficient knowledge of language through intensive programs. Possibly, we need more professional literature courses to gain a good command of language.

The renaming act means certain impact on our future career. If we plan to start advanced studies, it will be very challenging to find matching field of study. If we plan to put ourselves on the job market, employers will expect us to be like a communication information management major, instead of an English major. Whatever the case, it is really up to everyone of us to have a say about whether renaming is a good idea or not.

An Unfortunate Birthday in the Year of Plague:

The Painting by the Famous Artist Was Stolen from the Dutch Museum on the Birthday of the Artist.

By Woo Jiwoo

Due to COVID-19, we have lost our ordinary life and the painting by the famous Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring (1884) was taken overnight from a small museum, Singer Laren Museum in the Netherlands. Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, March 13, the Museum had been temporarily shut down to help preventing the spread of virus. According to the police statement, the alarm went off around 3:15 a.m. on early Monday morning. When the time officers arrived, all that they found was the shattered glass front door and an empty showcasing in which the painting was displayed. The thief or thieves had already disappeared. 

“I feel enormous anger and sadness. Because especially in these dark days that we are in, I feel so strongly that art is here to comfort us, to inspire us and to heal us,” said the museum’s curator, Jan Rudolph de Lorm, over the theft.

The painting was created within 1883 to 1885 while Van Gogh stayed in the town Nuenen where his parents lived. It shows the ruins of the local church in the town. The painting never belonged to the Singer Laren Museum where the painting was stolen; it was on loan from another museum in the Netherlands, Groninger Museum, for the exhibition “Mirror of the Soul”. 

It is not the first time for the Singer Laren Museum targeted to a heist. In 2007, seven statues were stolen from the museum’s garden including the well-known bronze cast The Thinker by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. The sculpture was found and damaged that it missed one leg.

People are wondering whether Van Gogh’s 167th birthday is related to the heist. But Mr. de Lorm, the curator of the museum, insisted that the thieves probably didn’t know about this and it’s just a strange coincidence.

The Taiwan's Center of Disease Control: NHCC

By Tsai Peiyi

The novel Coronavirus outbreak has drawn increased international attention and concerns as the virus quickly spreads across the world. However, Taiwan is seen as one of the few places which have successfully checked the spread of the Coronavirus. Thanks to the leadership of Shih-Chung Chen, the Minister of Health and Welfare, who is now the acting commander of the National Health Command Center (NHCC), Taiwan is steeling itself against and forward its battle with the Coronavirus.

    It is also worth mentioning that someone wants to hold us back. According to news reports, the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) proposed a replacement of our acting commander lest the minister may sometimes disagree with his superior, the premier. In TPP’s opinion, it is better off for the premier to take over the NHCC, better off for the superior to act as the commander. It may after all be a ridiculous idea. First, although the premier is a more highly ranked position than the minister, the  minister is more professional on this position as a medical doctor. So, even when there is a disagreement of opinion, people have their faith in and respect for the minister’s opinion and decision. Second, regardless of the minister’s success in battling the outbreak so far, from people’s thorough observation, he has never shown the slightest sign of dereliction of duty. There is no reason to replace him. Finally, the time is crucial and the enemy is the Coronavirus. Why does TPP focus on petit politics like this instead of epidemic prevention? Placing politics before anything else in the nick of time, if that is the case, is absolutely absurd. Can we have a capable commander and a professional doctor to lead and work for people? This battle is the whole nation’s life-and-death concern and it is a responsibility beyond the TPP’s capability to tackle or to put a word in edgewise.

    We are all going through a rough patch. What we need is stick together. An unclear head with an uninformed mind is the least thing we need. Taiwan is free country and it certainly allows freedom of speech. But, if you are only insisted in acquiring your  political gain, you are doing so at the cost of people’s suffering and pain, in the time of plague..