Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) has ordered the Ministry of Science and Technology to look into an academic publishing scandal involving Minister of Education Chiang Wei-ling (蔣偉寧), Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said yesterday.
The directive came in the wake of accusations that National Pingtung University associate professor Chen Chen-yuan (陳震遠) committed academic fraud after 60 articles submitted by Chen were withdrawn from the Journal of Vibration and Control over allegations of falsified peer reviews.
Five of the retracted papers have Chiang listed as a coauthor.
Chiang on Friday convened a press briefing in which he denied any involvement in the alleged fraud.
Sun yesterday quoted Jiang as saying he felt “sorrow” over the scandal, adding that Chiang sought the premier out to clarify his role in the incident as soon as he found out that five of the publications in question cited him as a coauthor.
Sun said he did not know the details of the conversation between Jiang and Chiang, adding that the premier had asked the minister to clear the matter up with the public, which Chiang sought to do at the press conference on Friday.
The scandal has prompted calls for Chiang to be suspended until the incident is resolved, but Sun said the premier has not yet made a decision on that yet.
“Right now, we are waiting for the results of the investigation,” the Executive Yuan spokesman said.
Separately yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson Huang Di-ying (黃帝潁) called on Chiang to assume responsibility in the matter.
The scandal has gained worldwide coverage from news outlets such as the New York Times and the Guardian, Huang said, adding that a report in the Los Angeles Times said there could be other suspects involved.
Huang said that the Ministry of Education as well as the Ministry of Science and Technology should shoulder their responsibilities and launch probe to determine the existence of academic fraud, how long it has existed and how many people are involved.
It is important that any person found guilty of such fraud be punished according to the law to preserved the nation’s academic reputation, the DPP spokesman said, adding that these people’s promotions and grants should be revoked.
Huang also called into question Chiang’s claim that he did not know beforehand that he was listed as a coauthor in the five withdrawn papers, with the spokesman saying that the articles were all listed under the section detailing on the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Web site detailing Chiang’s publications.
“How could he not know about their existence?” Huang said, adding that the Ministry of Education should also investigate Chiang.
According to DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), the practice of equating the number of times a paper is cited to its academic achievement has cuased many problems in the nation’s academic circles.
The retracted articles serve as a rude awakening for Taiwanese academics that it is time to curb the “ridiculous” trend of name-dropping, Kuan said.
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
RSS