Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) has ordered the Ministry of Science and Technology to look into an academic publishing scandal involving Minister of Education Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧), Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said yesterday.
The directive came in the wake of accusations that National Pingtung University associate professor Chen Chen-yuan (陳震遠) committed academic fraud after 60 articles submitted by Chen were withdrawn from the Journal of Vibration and Control over allegations of falsified peer reviews.
Five of the retracted papers have Chiang listed as a coauthor.
Chiang on Friday convened a press briefing in which he denied any involvement in the alleged fraud.
Sun yesterday quoted Jiang as saying he felt “sorrow” over the scandal, adding that Chiang sought the premier out to clarify his role in the incident as soon as he found out that five of the publications in question cited him as a coauthor.
Sun said he did not know the details of the conversation between Jiang and Chiang, adding that the premier had asked the minister to clear the matter up with the public, which Chiang sought to do at the press conference on Friday.
The scandal has prompted calls for Chiang to be suspended until the incident is resolved, but Sun said the premier has not yet made a decision on that yet.
“Right now, we are waiting for the results of the investigation,” the Executive Yuan spokesman said.
Separately yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson Huang Di-ying (黃帝潁) called on Chiang to assume responsibility in the matter.
The scandal has gained worldwide coverage from news outlets such as the New York Times and the Guardian, Huang said, adding that a report in the Los Angeles Times said there could be other suspects involved.
Huang said that the Ministry of Education as well as the Ministry of Science and Technology should shoulder their responsibilities and launch probe to determine the existence of academic fraud, how long it has existed and how many people are involved.
It is important that any person found guilty of such fraud be punished according to the law to preserved the nation’s academic reputation, the DPP spokesman said, adding that these people’s promotions and grants should be revoked.
Huang also called into question Chiang’s claim that he did not know beforehand that he was listed as a coauthor in the five withdrawn papers, with the spokesman saying that the articles were all listed under the section detailing on the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Web site detailing Chiang’s publications.
“How could he not know about their existence?” Huang said, adding that the Ministry of Education should also investigate Chiang.
According to DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), the practice of equating the number of times a paper is cited to its academic achievement has cuased many problems in the nation’s academic circles.
The retracted articles serve as a rude awakening for Taiwanese academics that it is time to curb the “ridiculous” trend of name-dropping, Kuan said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
RSS