Academia Sinica last week called on employees to heed the Public Servant Administrative Neutrality Act (公務人員行政中立法) — a move which many of the employees said was directed at research fellow Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), leading to it being dubbed the “Huang Kuo-chang clause.”
Huang had been involved in the student-led Sunflower movement in March that occupied the Legislative Yuan’s main chamber on March 18 for three weeks in protest of the government’s handling of the cross-strait service trade agreement.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟), among others, has accused Huang, a researcher at the institute and thus a civil servant, of violating the act by participating in politically charged protests during business hours and asked the institute to look into his attendance and academic records.
At the time, Academia Sinica responded by saying that Huang’s leave had been officially approved according to procedure and his involvement in public affairs is commendable.
The reply prompted Lu to say the institute should be abolished.
In the message to its employees, Academia Sinica reiterated the regulations governing attendance records. The notice cited the act, which stipulates that employees shall follow due procedure in applying for leave and they shall not participate, organize or preside at political gatherings of any form; nor shall they double as politicians.
Speculation arose swiftly that the notice was directed at Huang.
Academia Sinica Secretary-General Wu Chin-lieh (吳金冽) said that the notification was issued as a response to Lu’s relentless complaints and as a reference to employees in an effort to curb rumors.
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