National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) students initiated a signature drive against the university’s decision to confer an honorary doctorate of education upon Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) chairman Jack Ma (馬雲), demanding that the university divulge its “black-box” decisionmaking process.
NTNU president Chang Kuo-an (張國恩) awarded Ma the degree on Friday last week during a ceremony that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), an alumnus, attended as a guest.
The students yesterday presented a petition to NTNU secretary Lin An-pang (林安邦) asking Chang to address their demands.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
They demanded that the school reveal which department recommended Ma for the degree, its rationale and what review processes had been undertaken to consider the appropriateness of the degree.
The university should not have given Ma the degree, because he has been involved in a number of controversies, student Pan Kuan (潘寬) said.
Pan said that Taobao.com (淘寶), Alibaba’s biggest e-commerce platform, is rife with counterfeit goods and that Ma has made improper comments about the 1989 pro-democracy protests in China, labeling the crackdown at Tiananmen Square as “the most correct decision.”
Chang reportedly said at the ceremony that the idea to consider Ma for an honorary degree was inspired by a speech Ma delivered in Taiwan in March.
“How could such a decision be made in three months and on the basis of a speech?” student Lou Dan (羅丹) asked.
The students also demanded that the university apologize to students and teachers for forcing them to attend the ceremony and canceling classes, Lou said, adding that some students were told that they risked being marked absent if they did not attend.
The university should review its policies for awarding honorary degrees, Lou said.
The university said it encouraged its teachers to ask students to attend the ceremony, at which Ma spoke for 15 minutes, because it knew there were students who were disappointed they did not get a chance to hear him speak in March due to limited space.
However, students were not compelled to attend, it said.
The decision to confer the degree was made by a review committee after the College of Education recommended Ma be recognized for his contributions to society and his work to create innovative enterprises that have worldwide influence, the university said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique