Academia Sinica has not tried to intervene in the selection process for the president of National Taiwan University (NTU), even though its vice president is one of the candidates, Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) said during a legislative session yesterday.
The university has set up a 21-member ad hoc committee for the selection that includes nine NTU faculty members and student representatives, nine NTU alumni and others from the general public, and three representatives selected by the Ministry of Education.
Academia Sinica Vice President Chou Mei-yin (周美吟) and former Academia Sinica vice president Wang Fan-sen (王汎森) are among the eight candidates for the position, while Liao and other academics from the institution are part of the committee.
Media reports suggested the selection would take place in the shadow of the institution’s influence.
Several lawmakers from the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee raised concerns about the issue when Liao delivered the institution’s policy report.
He and other academics had not sought to become committee members, but were “passively” recommended to sit on the committee, Liao said.
There is no question of influence from Academia Sinica, he said, responding to questions from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃).
Chou does not have to resign from her position, given the selection is not a political election and her work will not be affected, he said.
However, Liao’s participation in the selection is “inappropriate,” considering that Chou is his subordinate at Academia Sinica, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) said.
“Academia Sinica has become intertwined with the nation’s political and economic fabric since [the indictment of] former Academia Sinica president Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠),” she said.
Ko urged Liao to leave the committee to avoid a conflict of interest.
Liao said he would not take the advice, adding that legitimate procedure is essential to the selection process.
DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) defended Liao’s stance, saying he is fulfilling his social responsibility and that the issue has been unduly “politicized.”
Other than Chou and Wang, candidates for the presidency include former NTU acting president Chang Ching-jui (張慶瑞), former NTU College of Liberal Arts dean Chen Juo-shui (陳弱水), NTU College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science dean Chen Ming-hsien (陳銘憲), NTU Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences dean Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), former Institute for Information Industry president Wu Jui-pei (吳瑞北) and National Tsing Hua University vice president Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文).
Candidates are to present their plans for the school in four meetings from Monday to Friday next week that are to be livestreamed.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS