During a group discussion titled “Civic Disobedience” hosted by National Taiwan University’s (NTU) college of law, college dean Shieh Ming-yan (謝銘洋) said that if anyone had the right to say “we failed our students,” it was the NTU college of law.
“We have truly failed our students, because we have not taught [President] Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) well,” Shieh said.
Ma received his bachelor’s degree of law from the college in 1972.
Photo:Taipei Times
Shieh’s comments referred to how the government allegedly intended to indict students for illegal actions when they were the only ones to stand up and highlight the government’s incapabilities and shortcomings.
Shieh’s comments also alludes to the apologies offered by National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) President Wu Yan-hwa (吳妍華) on Thursday to police on duty during the Sunflower movement for “not having taught our students well.”
Wu sent an open letter to university staff on Friday apologizing for her comments, saying: “I have apologized, not because I felt the students have done something to dishonor the school, but for my personal role.”
Wu’s comments on Thursday drew criticism from university students and professors, with 75 professors and 2,700 students co-signing a petition to remove her from office, with alumni even offering to donate NT$1.7 million (US$56,496) to help the efforts of removing Wu from office.
The student’s petition said that they regretted Wu’s comments and were puzzled at her apology.
As an educator and scientific researcher, Wu should have attempted to understand that the origins of the Sunflower movement stemmed from the undemocratic way in which the government handled the cross-strait service trade pact, the elevation of the power of administration over that of legislation, and attempts to repress the civil right of political participation, the petition said.
“Wu instead chooses to stand against the trend and seek to — as a sort of father figure — devalue the efforts of students to participate in their own future and the legitimacy of the democratic system,” the petition said.
Wu further said that she was worried about students being penalized by law for attempting to voice their concerns, adding that since so many alumni and students have complained about her comments, she would apologize for delivering commentary which were not well thought through.
NCTU student Chao Tzu-wen (趙子文) said that although he accepted Wu’s apology, he cannot accept her values.
Meanwhile, NCTU alumnus Chiu Chi-hung (邱繼弘), the manager of CacaFly.com (聖洋科技公司), said on Facebook he had learned while studying at NCTU that he could not be entirely unemotional and uncaring about social issues.
That was one of the reasons he set up the cacaFly Asian Scholarship, through which he is hoping to make NCTU students more competitive.
“I cannot believe Wu has shattered the honor of NCTU students like this,” Chiu said.
CacaFly would not stop any scholarships that have already been approved, Chiu said.
He added that he hoped Wu would not continue to ruin the honor of NCTU students and she should be more careful about what she says when she offers comments on issues.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
RSS