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.
‘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