National Science Council (NSC) Minister Cyrus Chu (朱敬一) yesterday announced the appointment of Hocheng Hong (賀陳弘) as deputy minister and said that finding new, talented academics and supporting their research were the council’s most important tasks.
Chu, who assumed his position at the council on Monday, is the first NSC minister with a background in social sciences. He received his doctorate degree in economics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and has worked as a professor at National Taiwan University. He has also served as a vice president at Academia Sinica and a minister without portfolio.
As many young postgraduate students have no opportunity to do research or have difficulty finding a job in an academic field, the council would seek to give these young academics more opportunities to do their own research, Chu said.
It is important to loosen the now rigid framework of academic performance evaluations, which academics often say has limited the direction of their research, Chu said.
He added that the council would review the evaluation system and make an effort to find a solution that balances the quality and quantity of research.
Chu also announced that two other deputy ministers — Chen Cheng-hong (陳正宏) and Chang Ching-fong (張清風) — would remain in their jobs and that Hocheng would fill the vacancy left by Jou Jing-yang (周景揚), who has returned to the academic field.
“As dean of National Tsing Hua University’s college of engineering, Hocheng has abundant administrative experience and has also received many awards for his academic performance,” Chu said. “We have many similar ideas on educational reform.”
Hocheng will be in charge of supervising the field of biology and the science parks that are managed by the council.
Answering reporters’ questions on whether there would be a gap between the practical management of industries at the science parks and the ministers’ experience in the academic field, Chu said he would visit the science parks today to gain a better understanding of the current situation.
“Sometimes people from different backgrounds can discover problems previously unseen because they are looking at them from another perspective,” he said, adding that they would take time to learn about the industries and make adjustments.
“Detailed knowledge about technology isn’t the most important thing in an era of innovation, insight into the industry is more important,” Chu said.
He also said he would exchange opinions and ask for advice from industry experts when necessary.
Because of the global economic crisis, Chu said that at this point he could not promise to raise the council’s technology development budget every year, but that he would pursue the most benefits for the public within the council’s limited budget.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
The Taipei District Court today ruled to extend the incommunicado detention of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) for two more months as part of an ongoing corruption trial. Codefendants in the case — real-estate tycoon Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) and Ko's former mayoral office head Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗) — were granted bail of NT$100 million (US$3.4 million) and NT$20 million respectively. Sheen and Lee would also be barred from leaving the country for eight months and prohibited from contact with, harassing, threatening or inquiring after the case with codefendants or witnesses. The two would also be
RSS