Academia Sinica issued a statement on Friday responding to the recent tumult over one of its researchers being accused of dereliction of duty for participating in the Sunflower movement and called on society to “have a positive view” of researchers’ public expression of opinions.
The Anti Taiwan Independence Historical View Alliance staged protests for two days last week against Academia Sinica researcher Huang Kuo-chang’s (黃國昌) participation in the Sunflower movement — the student-led protest that occupied the Legislative Yuan’s chamber on March 18 for three weeks over the handling of the cross-strait service trade agreement.
The alliance accused Huang, a researcher at the institute and thus a civil servant, of violating the Civil Service Administrative Neutrality Act (公務人員行政中立法) by participating in politically charged protests during business hours and asked the institute to look into his attendance and academic record.
Academia Sinica responded in the statement that — as the nation’s top research institute — it has always respected its researchers’ value judgements and choices, and avoided forcing particular points of view upon its individual workers.
“The institute, to substantiate the freedom of speech protected by a democratic society, also respects each researcher’s public expression of views about public issues based on his or her values and beliefs,” the statement says.
While the researchers, as civil servants, are bound to comply with the Act, “Huang had used holidays and taken days off for his participation in non-political-party-initiated activities and therefore had not run afoul of the regulations,” it said.
Regarding whether Huang, could be disciplined by the Act of Disciplinary Sanctions of Public Functionaries (公務員懲戒法), the institute clarified that Huang does not hold an administrative position in the department and is therefore not punishable, as the law is not applicable to those who do not hold administrative positions.
“Academic research cannot be segregated in the ivory tower or isolated from the people, the nation’s development and the society’s movement. It should be the manifestation of the human pursuit of eternal values.”
“That the scholars’ freedom to propose their ideas based upon their studies and knowledge should be protected is an undisputed aspect of a democratic society,” it said. “Academia Sinica as a public research establishment strives to maintain its impartial stance and values plurality and richness of views voiced by individual researchers. Those who do not hold administrative power or are not involved in the distribution of administrative resources should be allowed to express their opinions publicly and their action be positively appraised.”
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS