MingDao University (MDU; Chinese: 明道大學; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Bêng-tō Tāi-ha̍k) was a private university located in Pitou Township, Changhua County, Taiwan.
明道大學 | |
 | |
| Motto | 明善誠身[1] |
|---|---|
Motto in English | Wisdom, Virtue, Honesty, Progress[2] |
| Type | Private |
| Active | 2001–1 August 2024 |
| Address | 23°52′14″N 120°29′42″E / 23.8705°N 120.4949°E |
| Website | Official website |
| MingDao University | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 明道大學 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
MingDao's specialized areas of research include renewable energy engineering[3] (especially solar,[4] wind,[5] and hydrogen[6]), and its Department of Post Modern Agriculture is active in the promotion of organic agriculture across East and Southeast Asia.[7] The university's motto is "Wisdom, Virtue, Honesty, Progress."[2]
History
editThe institution was founded as the MingDao School of Management in 2001, and was accorded university status by the Ministry of Education (ROC) in 2007. In 2020, the university had an enrollment rate of less than 60%.[8] It is scheduled to shut down on July 31, 2024.[9] On 1 August 2024, the university stopped its operation.[10]
Faculties
edit- College of Applied Science
- College of Design
- College of Hospitality and Tourism Management
- College of Humanities
- College of Management[11]
Centers and Institutes
editInternational student exploitation
editIn November 2018 it was reported in Eswatini that Mingdao University tricked more than 40 Eswatini students in working full five-day shifts in a chicken processing plant.[12][13]
MingDao University recruited over 40 students from Eswatini to take part in a work-study program.[14] The program, advertised in June 2018, was called the "Taiwan Work/Study Scholarship" and offered applicants "hands-on practical and work experience" while earning a Bachelor's in Business Administration. The advertisement claimed each student would earn a monthly wage that would cover tuition, accommodation, insurance, and other fees while still leaving 3,000 Swazi lilangeni (US$167) a month to spare for extra spending money.
Once the students began the college program in Changhua County's Pitou Township, they were shocked to realize they were being sent to a freezing factory with temperatures hovering below 10 degrees Celsius to peel chicken skin. One student likened the situation to "slavery", alleging they could not simply leave since the university would punish those remaining behind.[14] What they encountered in Taiwan was reminiscent of the case of over 40 Sri Lankan students from Kang Ning University who were duped into working in a slaughterhouse.
Yu Jung-hui (尤榮輝), chairman of the Union of Private School Educators (UPRISE), said that the students were used for "slave labor" and that MingDao University is "almost an international fraud" and called for an investigation.[15]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "校訓 (Chinese)". MDU. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
- ^ a b "Accommodation". MDU. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
- ^ University launches new hydrogen-powered car - The China Post
- ^ Mingdao University lauds electricity-making panes - Taipei Times
- ^ High-Efficiency 4kW VAWT Design and Development
- ^ Hydrogen Student Design Contest
- ^ ATOAP International – Home
- ^ "12 universities in Taiwan suffer enrollment rate lower than 60 percent". Taiwan News. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- ^ "Three private universities ordered to halt new enrollments". Focus Taiwan News. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "Universities close amid diminishing enrollment numbers". Taipei Times. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ "Colleges". Mingdao University. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ Bring back our children from the Mingdao slave factories, Swazi Observer, 23 November 2018
- ^ 外媒爆明道大學曾把外籍生當學工「每天剝鷄皮8小時」 教育部回應了, ETtoday, 20 May 2020 (in Chinese)
- ^ a b "Swaziland: Students in Taiwan Forced to Work 'Like Slaves' in Frozen Chicken Factory". AllAfrica. 20 November 2018. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018.
- ^ "Over 40 Eswatini students duped into skinning chickens in W. Taiwan". Taiwan news. Retrieved 7 May 2022.