Lawmakers across party lines yesterday criticized a Chinese academic for “politically bullying” a professor from National Tsing Hua University over an issue regarding Taiwan’s name.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Chao Li-yun (趙麗雲) said the party condemned Peking University neurobiologist Rao Yi (饒毅) for insisting that Chiang Ann-shyn (江安世), director of Tsing Hua’s Brain Research Center, identify the university as being located in “Taiwan, China” in a research paper co-authored by the two.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said Taiwanese scientists participating in international research are often put under pressure by their Chinese counterparts regarding Taiwan’s name.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
According to Chen, it is common that when joint Taiwan-China research papers are published, Taiwan is labeled either as “part of China” or “Taiwan, China.”
She lashed out at President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration for its inaction over the matter, accusing it of “submitting to humiliation.”
One of Chiang’s students aided Rao’s team in conducting biomolecular research and Rao drafted a paper that included Chiang and the student as co-authors, but National Tsing Hua University was listed as being located in “Taiwan, China,” according to ScienceInsider, a Web site which specializes in news related to scientific policy.
A ScienceInsider article said Chiang told Rao that the National Science Council only allows institutions and researchers it funds to list their address as Taiwan or “Taiwan, ROC.” Chiang told Rao not to use the “Taiwan, China” name again or he would demand the removal of the Tsing Hua authors’ names from the research paper.
However, Rao wrote to National Science Council Minister Lee Lou-chuang (李羅權) earlier this week, without consulting Chiang, to say that his group was willing to drop People’s Republic of China from its address and to use “Beijing, China.”
He suggested the council should change its policy and instruct Chiang’s team to use “Taiwan, China,” saying that if the council does not make the change, it will make it “extremely difficult for Chinese scientists to co-author papers without explicitly or implicitly endorsing a Taiwan that is not a part of China.”
Lee confirmed on Monday he had received Rao’s letter, but said he ignored it.
National Science Council Deputy Minister Chen Cheng-hong (陳正宏) described Rao’s actions as “political bullying,” saying it is international practice for Taiwanese researchers use “Taiwan,” “Taiwan, ROC,” or “Taipei, Taiwan,” in papers published in international peer-reviewed journals.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS