The Ministry of Education yesterday instructed National Taiwan University (NTU) to re-elect a president from the five finalists of the previous election — including NTU finance professor Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), whose election was rejected by the ministry in May — on the condition that Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) vice president Richard Tsai (蔡明興) is barred from voting to avoid a conflict of interest.
The ministry is not asking the university to launch an election from square one, but only to “redo the step found to be flawed,” Minister of Education Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) told a news conference at the ministry in Taipei.
The committee on Jan. 5 elected Kuan to be NTU president and he was originally scheduled to take office on Feb. 1, but the ministry on May 4 refused to approve his election on the grounds that there was a conflict of interest in the election process, as Kuan allegedly did not tell the committee that he was an independent member of Taiwan Mobile’s board of directors, even though Tsai was on the election committee.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The university, a group of NTU students and Kuan have each filed an administrative appeal requesting that the ministry honor the election results and appoint him.
A report issued by the Judicial Yuan on Aug. 16 concluded that Kuan had contravened the Act Governing the Appointment of Educators (教育人員任用條例) in his capacity at Taiwan Mobile, and that he and Tsai had each failed to disclose the conflict of interest prior to the election.
When the ministry requested a re-election in May, it did not specify how it should be conducted and the summer break has made it difficult for the election committee to meet to resolve the controversy, Yeh said.
“Now that school has begun, things should be different. The committee should convene a meeting to address the concerns raised by the ministry and the Control Yuan, and officially respond to them,” he said.
The committee must first determine whether to remove Tsai or have him refrain from voting, and then relaunch the final round of the election with the same five candidates, he said.
The candidates were Kuan, Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences director Chou Mei-yin (周美吟), Administrative Affairs vice president and physics professor Chang Ching-ray (張慶瑞), Graduate Institute of Networking and Multimedia professor Chen Ming-hsien (陳銘憲) and history professor Chen Jo-shui (陳弱水).
If NTU refuses to cooperate, the ministry would formally respond to the administrative appeal by Oct. 3, he said, adding that he hopes to avoid a lawsuit, because it might affect the university’s stability.
“Only by ensuring fairness can presidential elections be considered legitimate. I hope that there will be no more hesitation from either side, because the nation’s administrative procedures, which are essential to the rule of law, must not be further compromised,” Yeh said.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
MATAIAN RIVER: Rescue operations were ongoing, with officials urging residents to move to higher floors where possible as teams focus first on those at ground level Floodwaters from the overflowing Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake swept into Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) yesterday afternoon, leaving hundreds of people trapped and three missing as of press time last night, the Hualien County Fire Bureau said. The waters surged into downtown Guangfu after the riverbank burst at about 2:50pm, carrying mud and debris and submerging streets to rooftop level in some areas. Residents were seen climbing onto vehicles and rooftops to await rescue as thick, silt-laden water inundated the town. The surge destroyed the Mataian Bridge (馬太鞍溪橋) and flooded the Guangfu Railway Station. Rescue operations were launched with support from fire departments
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
RSS