Ruey-Beei Wu (吳瑞北), a National Taiwan University (NTU) electrical engineering professor and a candidate for university presidential, yesterday filed an administrative litigation against the Ministry of Education and the school, asking that the university redo its presidential election from the beginning instead of from the final round of voting.
As a candidate, he would be able ask the court to speed up the judicial process and help resolve the controversy more effectively, he wrote on Facebook.
The university’s presidential election in January became embroiled in controversies after NTU finance professor Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) was elected president and then accused of failing to disclose a conflict of interest.
Photo: Lin Hsiao-yun, Taipei Times
Kuan was an independent director and a member of the salary and auditing committees of Taiwan Mobile, while company vice chairman Richard Tsai (蔡明興) was a member of the election committee.
In May, the ministry ordered the university to repeat the election due to the conflict of interest, but the school refused and instead filed an administrative appeal requesting that Kuan be appointed as president based on the election.
On Monday last week, the ministry asked NTU to repeat the final round of voting with the same five candidates — Kuan, Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences director Chou Mei-yin (周美吟), physics professor Chang Ching-ray (張慶瑞), Graduate Institute of Networking and Multimedia professor Chen Ming-hsien (陳銘憲) and history professor Chen Jo-shui (陳弱水).
The ministry’s request was “not only illegal, but also illogical,” Wu wrote on Facebook, adding that student groups and the presidential election committee were unhappy with it.
“The university should repeat the election from the initial qualification review of all eight candidates, including Kuan and myself. The three rounds of voting conducted by the university council and presidential election committee following the review should, of course, be redone as well,” Wu said.
While the school had the right to file an administrative appeal, it cannot defy the ministry’s order to launch a re-election, he said.
By turning to the legal system, he hopes to bring a peaceful end to the controversy, which has caused “NTU’s reputation to hit rock bottom,” Wu added.
The other two candidates in the initial round were former Academia Sinica vice president Wang Fan-sen (陳汎森) and National Tsing Hua University vice president Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文).
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
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
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have