Academia Sinica on Thursday said that it would take legal action against a Chinese company after the latter in March unilaterally cut its access to an online academic database.
An agent has been contacted to reach out to Tongfang Knowledge Network Technology Co, operator of the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) academic database, for a response, Academia Sinica Central Academic Advisory Committee Deputy Executive Secretary Lu Miaw-fen (呂妙芬) told lawmakers at the legislature in Taipei.
Academia Sinica’s Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy library subscribed to the CNKI database, but its access was abruptly terminated in March after Tongfang unilaterally labeled the research institution a “secretive unit.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Academia Sinica has asked that the wrongful label be removed and its access to the database, which is essential for academic purposes, be restored, Lu said.
The issue is being handled by an agent and if there is no response from Tongfang by the middle of next month, she said the institution would take legal action against the company for breach of contract.
Lu said the institution is looking for an alternative database.
CNKI is a subscription-based online database that publishes various academic journals and papers covering many fields, such as politics, economy, humanities, social sciences and technology.
According to its Web site, primary users range from top universities, research institutes, government think tanks, enterprises and hospitals to public libraries.
Separately on Thursday, Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) was asked during the legislative hearing why there is a local entity called the “Academia Sinica 228 Research Supplementary Group” that has become a source of Chinese propaganda.
Liao told lawmakers that it is a study group established by a private entity and it is not linked to the research institution.
Academia Sinica said anyone holding activities and events using its name and logo must seek prior approval, adding that it has already notified the group to change its name and that it would take legal action if necessary.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤), who asked the question, said that the group used the Academia Sinica name in March to hold an academic symposium on the 228 Incident, a bloody government crackdown in 1947, during which it distorted history by describing the Incident as “people forcing the government to suppress them.”
In addition, a report it published in 2007 called the Japanese “the culprits of the 228 Incident” and the US “an accomplice.”
That version of events has since been widely reported by Chinese media.
Wu said the group was established on Feb. 25, 2006, and its members consist of researchers who once worked at Academia Sinica, including Chu Hong-yuan (朱浤源), who retired from the institution in 2015, while its founders also include Alliance for the Reunification of China chairman Chi Chia-lin (戚嘉林).
Lu said that the group was originally established as a reading club at Academia Sinica and admitted that at the time the institution did not object to the use of its name, but it has since told the group not to use its name.
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