National Taiwan University (NTU) yesterday expressed its strong objection and regret over the Ministry of Education’s decision the previous day to not approve the appointment of Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) as school president.
NTU said in a statement that it had adhered to regulations throughout the election process, contrary to the reasons cited by the ministry for not appointing him.
Deputy Minister of Education Lin Teng-chiao (林騰蛟) on Friday cited conflict of interest as the main factor in the ministry’s decision not to confirm Kuan’s appointment.
Photo: Peng Wan-hsin, Taipei Times
Lin was referring to Kuan serving as an independent director on the board of Taiwan Mobile (台灣大哥大) during the election while Taiwan Mobile vice chairman Richard Tsai (蔡明興) was on the NTU president election committee.
Regarding whether NTU would accept the ministry’s decision and start a new election process, it only said that it would “act in accordance with the law” once it receives a written notice of the decision.
Minister of Education Wu Maw-kuen (吳茂昆) on Friday said the ministry would step in if any legal issues arise in the new election process.
Kuan had breached NTU regulations by not disclosing his role as an independent director at Taiwan Mobile while Tsai was sitting on the election committee, he said.
It is now up to the committee to verify the conflict of interest and decide whether Kuan should be nominated again, Wu said.
Kuan, who was scheduled to take office on Feb. 1, has declined to comment on the decision.
Wang Fan-sen (王汎森), former vice president of Academia Sinica and one of the candidates for NTU president who lost to Kuan, said in a text message on Friday that he would not run for school president.
Another candidate, former National Tsing Hua University vice president Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文), also said that he would not run if the election process is marred by controversy and outside intervention.
The NTU student council has called for the implementation of “much-needed reforms” and has urged the school administration not to wait until a new president takes office.
The proposed reforms include introducing more gender-friendly facilities and clarifying the regulations pertaining to renting out the school’s gym and sports facilities, the student council said.
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
RSS