A proposal by Soochow University’s board of trustees to limit the frequency of appearances by faculty on political talkshows has provoked widespread criticism.
People argue that the proposal infringes on freedom of speech, but I think it is far-fetched to associate appearing on these talkshows with freedom of speech. It would be more appropriate to see it as “political activity.”
Pan-blue academics stress the pan-blue camp’s advantages and the pan-green camp’s shortcomings in these talk shows, while pan-green academics do the opposite, and some even get involved in the Democratic Progressive Party’s internal squabbles. This is political activity, and not just a matter of freedom of speech. What should be addressed is whether faculty members should become entwined in politics.
Faculty members should be encouraged to talk about academic issues on TV or participate in activities relating to public welfare, but if they get involved in political or other activities, it should be asked whether this would affect the quality of their teaching and research.
It is mistaken to assume that the work of academics consists only of teaching and that they can do whatever they want outside the classroom. They must also conduct research and prepare classes.
The work of public servants can be divided into two types: the nine-to-five system and the responsibility system. The latter does not impose specific working hours as long as you finish your designated work. You do not need to clock in when coming to work or clock out when going home. At the same time, there is no overtime because the total workload is regarded as part of one’s basic duties. The work of academics is similar: They do not have mandated working hours as long as they do well in their teaching and research.
I was the first professor to overtly participate in the Taiwanese independence movement in Kaohsiung and Pingtung. In the early days, National Sun Yat-sen University was generally recognized as affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), thus many of my friends were worried that I would suffer oppression.
Instead, I was treated very respectfully. The reason for this was that I finished the work I had to do and did not cause any trouble. When participating in political activities outside the campus, I taught and did research at school and managed to conduct at least one project for the National Science Council every year. At the time, restrictions on applying for council projects were not very strict, and I had two projects in the works every year while supervising an adequate number of graduate students. In addition, my research papers were published in prestigious international journals every year. Because I had met my responsibilities at the university, the school did not interfere with my political activities off campus.
Teachers should be devoted to teaching and finish their work before engaging in other activities. Academics who do not participate in political activities will tend not to be noticed if they do not perform very well in their teaching and research. But if they start participating in political activities, their teaching and research will come under immediate scrutiny. If they are found to be neglecting their duties, taking part in political activities will give them a negative image.
What Soochow University should do is emulate other prestigious universities and establish minimum standards for teaching and research rather than impose restrictions on the number of times academics appear on political talkshows. If an academic’s teaching and research is above par, it doesn’t matter if he or she participates in political activities.
Chen Mao-hsiung is a professor at National Sun Yat-sen University.
TRANSLATED BY TED YANG
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
Ursula K. le Guin in The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas proposed a thought experiment of a utopian city whose existence depended on one child held captive in a dungeon. When taken to extremes, Le Guin suggests, utilitarian logic violates some of our deepest moral intuitions. Even the greatest social goods — peace, harmony and prosperity — are not worth the sacrifice of an innocent person. Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), since leaving office, has lived an odyssey that has brought him to lows like Le Guin’s dungeon. From late 2008 to 2015 he was imprisoned, much of this
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and