Academia Sinica must implement a code of conduct for its scientists and research fellows, lawmakers said yesterday, following allegations that two professors cooperated with authorities to persecute students during democracy protests in Hong Kong.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Fan Yun (范雲) and Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) told a legislative committee meeting that Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) has used delaying tactics and made false promises since requests were made in 2019 and in 2021 for the institution to draft a code of conduct.
Taiwan-born Way Kuo (郭位), a professor of engineering who was president of City University of Hong Kong from 2008 to last year, and Chinese national Zhang Xiang (張翔), a professor of physics who is president and vice chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, failed to protect students and even worked with authorities as the Hong Kong government cracked down on those calling for democracy in the territory in 2019, Fan said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Civic groups, Hong Kong rights advocates and DPP members in 2021 demanded that Academia Sinica strip the title of “academician” from both men, as they were presidents of their respective institutions during the protests.
“It is 2024, but there is still no code of conduct,” Fan said, accusing Liao of inaction.
“We are not asking for a unique thing... The top research institutes in the US, the UK, Australia and other countries have their own codes, which regulate the actions and behaviors of their executives, faculty and research fellows,” she said.
“For example, the US National Academy of Sciences has a code of conduct, prohibiting discrimination, sexual harassment and other behavior, while also requiring researchers to reveal their funding sources,” Fan said.
The lawmakers asked Liao to present a report to the committee about the budget and management of Academia Sincia, as it is the nation’s top research institute, is financed by the state and has the Presidential Office as its supervisory agency.
Liao said that Academia Sinica in 2019 initiated discussions to draft a code and had the issue on the agenda in 2022, but did not continue the work, as there was a change in chairperson.
A draft code would be drawn up this year, he said.
“We have referenced codes of conduct at other institutions, but would not draw directly from them,” he said.
Other lawmakers said that Academia Sinica, which is Latin for “Chinese academy,” should consider a name change, in part to prevent foreigners from misunderstanding the nature of the institution.
However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝衣?) said there is no confusion.
The name should be kept, Hsieh said, adding that the institution “must remain focused on academic research and not become entangled in politics.”
“We have a democratic mechanism that is discussing name change issues,” Liao said, adding that Academia Sinica secretarial office head Tseng Kuo-hsiang (曾國祥) took up the issue three years ago, with surveys of faculty and academicians conducted, leading to a meeting that postponed the discussion.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its