A Chung Yuan Christian University associate professor yesterday said he was forced to apologize to a class after a complaint from a Chinese student about remarks he made on the origin of COVID-19 and for saying that he was from the “Republic of China (ROC) Taiwan.”
Chao Ming-wei (招名威), an associate professor in the bioscience technology department, told a news conference in Taipei organized by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Mark Ho (何志偉) that during a class on March 13, he postulated that the novel coronavirus came from Wuhan, China, raised doubts about the death tolls released by Chinese authorities and spoke about the racial discrimination Asians and African Americans face in the US.
His remarks upset a Chinese student, and the school twice asked him to apologize in front of the class, he told reporters.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
As a professor, he looks at science and facts — regardless of politics, religion, nationality or race — and he would not discriminate against any student, especially in Taiwan’s inclusive, democratic society, Chao said.
While he accepts criticism from students, he would not accept intimidation, he said.
The university threatened him to force him to apologize, and his apology had to be approved by school authorities, he added.
He was disappointed with the university’s response, Chao said, adding that academic freedom, freedom of speech, and students’ right to education and teachers’ right to work should be respected.
His case is probably not an isolated incident, he said.
In an audio recording released by Ho at the news conference, a man identified by Ho’s office as an official of the Taoyuan-based university can be heard asking Chao why he emphasized that he is a professor from the “Republic of China Taiwan” in his initial apology.
Ho said the university had trampled on Chao’s character and that of the nation.
He has asked the Ministry of Education to report back within a week on whether there have been other such cases, how many and how it handled them, Ho added.
Sung Wen-chien (宋雯倩), a representative from the ministry’s Department of Higher Education who attended the news conference, said she had not been told of Chao’s complaint beforehand.
Diversity, inclusion and academic autonomy are basic qualifications for universities, she said.
The ministry would ask the university to explain, adding that Taiwan should not be demeaned during academic exchanges, she said.
Separately, the university said that to protect students, it counsels teachers who make comments in class unrelated to their profession or to their courses, and asks them to make improvements.
It sees the creation of a friendly campus as one of its missions, and guarantees the right to education to students from any nation or region, the school said.
It reserves the right to legal recourse with regards to teachers who neglect the quality of education or trigger misunderstandings or social unrest through the use of one-sided information, it added.
In a statement issued later yesterday, the ministry said no university teacher in Taiwan needs to apologize for stating in class that they are from the Republic of China.
It would form an ad hoc committee to investigate Chao’s allegations, as well as the appropriateness of the university’s handling of the case, it added.
Additional reporting by Sherry Hsiao
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