The Anti Taiwan Independence Historical View Alliance yesterday staged a protest in front of Academia Sinica in Taipei and asked the institute to look into the attendance and academic output of its researchers, demanding the removal of faculty found not to be performing up to standard.
The alliance accused Academia Sinica researcher Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) of neglecting his duties and asked Academia Sinica president Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠) to look into the matter.
The alliance is starting signature drives, both online and on the streets, asking the public to join the effort to keep highly paid researchers focused on their jobs, alliance convener Wang Ping-chung (王炳忠) said, adding that if Huang had become a “professional protester” he should not be in Academia Sinica.
Wang said that Huang might have violated the Civil Service Administrative Neutrality Act (公務人員行政中立法) by participating in politically charged protests during business hours. He became one of the core decisionmakers during the Sunflower movement.
The student-led Sunflower movement occupied the Legislative Yuan in Taipei from March 18 to April 10 in opposition to the government’s handling of the controversial cross-strait service trade agreement.
Alliance member Lin Ming-cheng (林明正) said yesterday that Huang published four papers in 2008 that were listed in the US’ Social Sciences Citation Index, three in 2009 and four in 2010, adding that since then the number of research papers Huang has produced has plummeted.
Lin said that since the campaign against media monopolization in 2012, Huang published two papers that year and only one last year, adding that it is clear Huang has forgotten his role in society.
Academia Sinica is the pinnacle of academia in Taiwan and its researchers should dedicate their time to their studies, alliance member Hou Han-ting (侯漢廷) said.
While researchers should not be barred from expressing concern over the nation’s political development, their actions should be in accordance with the law and it should not interfere with their research, Hou said.
“We in the alliance are calling on people to look into how Academia Sinica researchers are using their time and pay,” Wang said, adding that he would be forwarding the results of the signature drive to Academia Sinica and ask it to investigate the matter more thoroughly.
In response, Academia Sinica secretary-general Wu Chin-lie (吳金冽) said that Huang had applied for days off during the student protests, adding that Huang’s actions during his days off were his own concern and he would take full responsibility for them.
It is not up to another individual or organization to decide whether Huang has neglected his duties, Wu said.
Wu said that as Huang’s participation in the student-led Sunflower movement was not Academia Sinica business, the institute cannot penalize him for it.
Additional reporting by Tang Chia-ling
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost