The Control Yuan yesterday asked the Judicial Yuan’s Disciplinary Court to retry former Academia Sinica president Wong Chi-huey’s (翁啟惠) case after the court reprimanded Wong for not fully disclosing his assets and failing to recuse himself in a matter that could have led to a conflict of interest.
Wong, accused of having made illicit gains by purchasing OBI Pharma stock, was acquitted by the Shilin District Court in December 2018.
However, he was impeached by the Disciplinary Court in 2017 for not fully disclosing his assets during an asset report, a decision he has already appealed twice.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The March 8 amendment of Article 14-1 of the Enforcement Rules of the Control Act (監察法施行細則) gave Wong reason to launch another appeal.
“Should the [Disciplinary Court] find that there are grounds to reinvestigate a case, it should dispatch, or alternate between, two members of the former court presiding over the case to head the reinvestigation,” Article 14-1 states.
Wong is an internationally acclaimed academic and his reputation should not be impugned, Control Yuan members said yesterday, adding that he would not be the only individual to benefit from Article 14-1.
Freedom to conduct research is a constitutionally guaranteed right, and Academia Sinica, as the highest institution for independent research in the country, should have its research protected, they said.
The members called on the court to respect Academia Sinica’s decision regarding allegations that Wong had not recused himself from acts that might have caused a conflict of interest.
The Academia Sinica Principles on Handling Conflict of Interest (中央研究院科技移轉利益衝突迴避處理原則) as they stood on Aug. 14, 2012, did not make a distinction between the position a person held as an administrator or as an academic, they said.
There was no correlation between Wong as the creator of the technology being transferred, and Wong the institute’s highest-level administrator, the members said, adding that he had followed the rules and filled out the form declaring the possibility of a conflict of interest.
The regulations as they stood in 2012 did not state that the technology’s creator could not become a stock owner, the members said, adding that Academia Sinica’s opaque regulations on conflicts of interest should not carry over to an individual who had followed rules.
The Control Yuan’s investigation has found that, based on new evidence and facts, the original basis for the court reprimanding Wong was no longer valid, the members said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS