During an interpellation on Dec. 17, 1999, legislators raised an interesting issue with Premier Vincent Siew (
To understand the issue better, we need to consider its historical context.
In 1949, the KMT retreated to Taiwan because of its defeat in the civil war to the Chinese communists, bringing with it the shells of many institutions that had been founded on the mainland. Thus, the names of many universities in Taiwan and their alumni associations are derived from their "mother" schools in China, such as National Tsing Hua University
In May, 1994, I proposed at a school meeting that the name of our school be changed from National Tsing Hua University to Hsin Chu University (
Taiwan and China are two different countries. Therefore,universities in Taiwan cannot be lumped together with those in various cities in China. As President Lee Teng-hui's (
The relationship between China and Taiwan has never been smooth. The Chinese have showed their extreme hostility towards Taiwan, especially when they conducted missile tests along the island's southeastern coast.
The ambiguity of Taiwan's status needs to be clarified so academic papers published in Taiwan will not be mistaken as Chinese. I have heard of several unusual cases where professors from Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu signed "Taiwan, China" at the end of their papers published in international publications.
The unreasonable behavior of these Taiwanese scholars cannot be justified even under the banner of promoting "academic freedom."
These professors are paid by the Taiwanese government and they take advantage of Taiwanese resources, but what they have done is to give credit to China for their academic achievements. It is not an overstatement to call these people "traitors to Taiwan."
Their actions will make it even easier to mislead the international media into believing that the Tsing Hua University in Taiwan is just a campus of the school in China. I agree that there should be academic exchanges between China and Taiwan, but the exchanges have to be based on equality and harmony. If these professors don't regard Taiwan as their motherland, then they should just go teach at the Tsing Hua University in Beijing.
My name change proposal was not accepted in 1994, even though it was supported by many colleagues on campus. The school meeting put the motion aside under the pretext that "the timing was not right."
Recently I was glad to learn about discussions on the possibility of merging Tsing Hua with Chiao Tung University and National Yang Ming University (
A merger of the three makes a lot of sense because Tsing Hua and Chiao Tung are known for their engineering schools while Yang Ming enjoys a good reputation for its medical departments. The merger could increase the schools' academic competitiveness through the pooling of resources. It would also be beneficial for student and teachers, as well as the residents of Hsinchu and Miaoli (
The Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park is probably the most economically productive area in Taiwan, yet the quality of medical care and resources in the area are not as advanced as other parts of the island because there is no medical school nearby. So Yang Ming's medical facilities would greatly benefit the people of Miaoli and Hsinchu.
According to reports, when the presidents of Tsing Hua and Chiao Tung discussed the idea of a merger with Vice Premier Liu Chao-hsuan (
If these schools can be merged successfully, there won't be any problem or confusion over identity. However, what to name the new university after a merger is the next question to be figured out by these schools.
Chen Kuo-Cheng is a professor in the chemical engineering department of National Tsing Hua University.
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