The National Science Council, the Ministry of Education and Academia Sinica yesterday issued a joint declaration claiming legal support for professors embroiled in a fake receipt scandal, while calling for the prosecutors to desist from prosecuting the professors on charges of graft.
Changhua County prosecutors on Friday indicted 12 professors from four universities — National Chung Hsing University, National Yang Ming University, the National Defense Medical Center and National Taichung University of Education — for allegedly using false receipts to claim reimbursement.
The indictments are only the first round, with more than 100 professors nationwide suspected of involvement in a scam in which they obtained false receipts to claim reimbursement, prosecutors said.
Minister of Education Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧), National Science Council Minister Cyrus Chu (朱敬一) and Academia Sinica President Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠) issued the joint declaration yesterday.
Their statement said that the indictment has not only severely damaged morale in academia, but would also give the international community the false impression that Taiwanese academia is rampant with cases of graft because of its “backward legal system.”
It said that if professors had moved the money allotted for purchase of materials into personal accounts, or had purchased materials irrelevant to their research, there would be a legal basis for an indictment.
However, if professors used receipts for research material or research devices for reimbursement, then subjectively speaking they did not have the intention of graft, the statement said.
Indicting these professors on a graft charge would be too severe and unfair, and would not follow the principle of proportionality, it said.
It added that the ministry, the council and Academia Sinica would hire lawyers to look into the issue and provide the professors with legal support, calling on the prosecutors to observe the last item of Article 6 of the Basic Law of Science and Technology (科學技術基本法) and not pursue indictments on graft, and for the legislature and the Ministry of Justice to look into the essence of academic study to better distinguish the lines separating legal and academic issues.
It is the hope of the institutions and of the numerous academics across the country that the line can be clarified, the statement said.
According to a professor at National Taiwan University, the false receipts issue stem from a possibly flawed system. The professor said that doing research is a race against time and often professors do not have time to apply for funds to make purchases through the normal channels.
He cited as an example that if experimental equipment is bought for three years of use, but breaks down after one year, it would be a complex process to apply for funds all over again to replace the equipment.
Some academics would then use false receipts to pay for a new purchase so they can continue with their research, “otherwise, the trouble could be even bigger if we couldn’t finish it by the deadline,” the professor said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft