During a group discussion titled “Civic Disobedience” hosted by National Taiwan University’s (NTU) college of law, college dean Shieh Ming-yan (謝銘洋) said that if anyone had the right to say “we failed our students,” it was the NTU college of law.
“We have truly failed our students, because we have not taught [President] Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) well,” Shieh said.
Ma received his bachelor’s degree of law from the college in 1972.
Photo:Taipei Times
Shieh’s comments referred to how the government allegedly intended to indict students for illegal actions when they were the only ones to stand up and highlight the government’s incapabilities and shortcomings.
Shieh’s comments also alludes to the apologies offered by National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) President Wu Yan-hwa (吳妍華) on Thursday to police on duty during the Sunflower movement for “not having taught our students well.”
Wu sent an open letter to university staff on Friday apologizing for her comments, saying: “I have apologized, not because I felt the students have done something to dishonor the school, but for my personal role.”
Wu’s comments on Thursday drew criticism from university students and professors, with 75 professors and 2,700 students co-signing a petition to remove her from office, with alumni even offering to donate NT$1.7 million (US$56,496) to help the efforts of removing Wu from office.
The student’s petition said that they regretted Wu’s comments and were puzzled at her apology.
As an educator and scientific researcher, Wu should have attempted to understand that the origins of the Sunflower movement stemmed from the undemocratic way in which the government handled the cross-strait service trade pact, the elevation of the power of administration over that of legislation, and attempts to repress the civil right of political participation, the petition said.
“Wu instead chooses to stand against the trend and seek to — as a sort of father figure — devalue the efforts of students to participate in their own future and the legitimacy of the democratic system,” the petition said.
Wu further said that she was worried about students being penalized by law for attempting to voice their concerns, adding that since so many alumni and students have complained about her comments, she would apologize for delivering commentary which were not well thought through.
NCTU student Chao Tzu-wen (趙子文) said that although he accepted Wu’s apology, he cannot accept her values.
Meanwhile, NCTU alumnus Chiu Chi-hung (邱繼弘), the manager of CacaFly.com (聖洋科技公司), said on Facebook he had learned while studying at NCTU that he could not be entirely unemotional and uncaring about social issues.
That was one of the reasons he set up the cacaFly Asian Scholarship, through which he is hoping to make NCTU students more competitive.
“I cannot believe Wu has shattered the honor of NCTU students like this,” Chiu said.
CacaFly would not stop any scholarships that have already been approved, Chiu said.
He added that he hoped Wu would not continue to ruin the honor of NCTU students and she should be more careful about what she says when she offers comments on issues.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
CHIP EXCEPTION: An official said that an exception for Taiwanese semiconductors would have a limited effect, as most are packaged in third nations before being sold The Executive Yuan yesterday decried US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced hours earlier as “unfair,” saying it would lodge a representation with Washington. The Cabinet in a statement described the pledged US tariffs, expected to take effect on Wednesday next week, as “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the government would “lodge a solemn representation” with the US Trade Representative and continue negotiating with Washington to “ensure the interests of our nation and industries.” Trump at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS