National Dong Hwa University in Hualien County suffered major damage and a chemical fire after April's 7.2-magnitude earthquake. Six months later, as the school year begins, the school has struggled to fill its enrolment goals.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Physics professor Guo Yonggang hasn't been able to work out of his research lab in National
00:10Donghua University for the last six months.
00:13It was damaged in a massive earthquake that struck this part of eastern Taiwan, and his
00:18new lab has yet to be built.
00:20Heartbroken.
00:21What can I say?
00:26I spent more than 26 years in this lab and all the equipment, and I just built out this
00:35lab.
00:42One of the top academic and research institutions in Taiwan, Donghua University was near the
00:47epicenter of the 7.2 quake that rocked the eastern part of the country in April, the
00:52strongest in 25 years.
00:54It killed at least 18 people, and caused widespread damage across the region, including
01:00to Donghua's chemistry building, now marked for demolition after a fire broke out, leaving
01:04it unusable.
01:06With the school year just starting, officials here are confident the remaining buildings
01:10are structurally sound, but they have other concerns.
01:14One of the biggest draws for students to this university is its open spaces and natural
01:18beauty.
01:19Now the school says that its university is safe, but that meeting its enrollment goals
01:24for new students after the earthquake has been a challenge.
01:27The central government is chipping in for the school's repairs, including earthquake-resistant
01:32upgrades, theoretically making the school even safer than before.
01:36Not a single person on campus was sent to the hospital because of the earthquake in
01:40April, but since then, the school is 97 students short of a full freshman class this year.
01:47This year we got 97, 97 is really very painful, okay, it's pain now.
01:55You got a kind of feeling that you get hurt.
01:59Actually we are talking about education, we are not supposed to talk about money, right?
02:04We need to debt the future students, no debt, don't worry about it, just come to this university.
02:12Current students seem convinced of the school's physical safety, but that may not be the only
02:16issue.
02:41In spite of the uncertainties, few of the students and faculty here have any plans to
02:45leave.
02:46The repairs underway are expected to take another three to five years to complete.
02:51Like the rest of Hualien County, the university is on a path to recovery, and hoping for fewer
02:57bumps ahead.
02:58Joseph Wu, Alec McDonald, and Chris Gorin for Taiwan Plus.