Student groups at National Taiwan University (NTU) launched a petition calling on the university and the Ministry of Education to set up an independent committee to conduct a follow-up probe into allegations of forged research by NTU president Yang Pan-chyr (楊泮池).
The online petition was launched by members of the NTU Graduate Student Association and the NTU Labor Union, calling for measures to remedy abuses of academic ethics while limiting interference with students’ research.
The students said they do not want to do the “dirty work” of unethical professors who are not held accountable for their actions, expressing dissatisfaction over a lack of action taken against professors implicated in the incident.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The petition has so far collected more than 200 signatures.
The incident came to light when a report published in the scientific journal Nature Cell Biology on Oct. 19 drew the attention of users of an online academic forum who said that a research team led by former NTU professor Kuo Min-liang (郭明良) forged research findings by using duplicated images.
Post-doctoratal researcher Cha Shih-ting (查詩婷) — first author of the paper — said in the thread that she had “inappropriately duplicated” some figures in the article, after which Kuo had the article pulled and later resigned from his teaching position.
The research was published in 2006 by the journal Cancer Research and lists Yang as a coauthor along with Kuo.
Yang yesterday appeared before the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee, also calling for an independent committee to investigate the matter, adding that this would bring “clarity and public trust.”
The university said in a statement that Yang did not forge the research, adding that the school would boost preventative measures to avoid similar incidents.
Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said the ministry would wait for the university to clarify Yang’s responsibility in the matter before conducting its own investigation, adding that it would seek repayment of bursaries and scholarships for any illegitimate research that it funded.
An investigation is already under way at the university, Pan said, adding that as the case involves violations of academic ethics, an independent group has been formed to carry out the investigation.
He said that the university’s investigation committee will look into conflicts of interest and prevent interference from concerned parties.
Asked whether Yang should be removed from his post pending the outcome of investigations, Pan said that there is no need for concern, as the allegations involve the academic nature of Yang’s position and not its administrative aspects.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
RSS