When retired Tamkang University military instructor Hsu Ching-jen (
"Doesn't the education ministry require teachers to refrain from swearing and beating students? The ministry can't insult people like that. I was very disturbed [by Tu's e-mail]," Hsu told reporters yesterday.
Hsu's e-mail three years ago followed months of correspondence to the ministry's military training department, urging officials there to send him documents officially recognizing his advanced degree in International Relations, he said.
When none came, he wrote an e-mail to Tu -- whose e-mail address was posted on the education ministry's Web site -- to complain.
The short, insulting reply, ostensibly from Tu himself, enraged Hsu and prompted him to sue the education ministry, after officials there further ignored his complaints, which he had lodged with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (
Hsu's case finally came to head on Monday, when the Taipei District Court ruled that the e-mail had indeed originated from the ministry and that Hsu was entitled to an apology.
Originally seeking a NT$200,000 (US$6,000) settlement from the ministry for emotional damage, Hsu said yesterday -- after education officials offered a heartfelt mea culpa to the retired military instructor -- that he was satisfied with their response and would drop the case.
After first saying that he didn't know anything about the case and fleeing from reporters, Tu said yesterday the untoward e-mail was likely the work of computer hackers, who he described as a serious problem for the ministry.
The ministry's Computer Center didn't have the means to find out who had done the hacking, Tu added.
"The people responsible [for writing e-mails on behalf of Tu] have already moved on to other positions and we're not about to start accusing people," said Wang Fu-lin (王福林), director of the ministry's military training department, which is in charge of officially recognizing military instructors' degrees.
The e-mail was likely the work of a prankster, Wang said, adding that the Computer Center's records showed it had been sent from a ministry computer after 1am.
"This is quite a bizarre incident," he said.
Computer Center spokeswoman Tu Ai-bao (杜愛葆), meanwhile, told reporters yesterday the e-mail could have been sent by somebody within the ministry who had used a computer that was still turned on and logged on.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday said Minister Tu should apologize on behalf of the ministry.
"Regardless of whether Tu knew of such a statement in advance or not, he should take full responsibility because he failed to supervise [his subordinates]," DPP caucus whip Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said.
He should also urge the staffers at the ministry to respond to the public, whether in writing or verbally, with caution, Wang said.
KMT legislators, however, said Minister Tu should resign.
"There is no hope for the country's education under the leadership of such a minister," KMT caucus whip Hsu Shao-ping (
She urged Premier Su Tseng-chang (
Meanwhile, responding to the apology offered by the ministry yesterday, Hsu Ching-jen said that "although justice was delayed, I accept that [apology]."
Additional reporting by Flora Wang and Shih Hsiu-chuan
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