National Taiwan University (NTU) should disclose the names of its ad hoc investigation committee’s members to prove that its probe into allegedly falsified journal papers cowritten by NTU president Yang Pan-chyr (楊泮池) and professor Kuo Min-liang (郭明良) was conducted in a fair and objective manner, Academia Sinica research fellow Juan Li-jung (阮麗蓉) said yesterday.
At a news conference in Taipei, Juan said that Yang could have acquiesced to Kuo’s academic misconduct over the past 10 years, citing a close working relationship between the two.
Yang, who in 2007 became dean of the university’s College of Medicine, hired Kuo as the college’s vice dean that year, Juan said.
In 2009, Kuo was appointed as director-general of the Department of Life Science of the then-National Science Council — now the Ministry of Science of Technology — on a referral by Yang.
Yang was the second author of a 2006 paper published by leading journal Cancer Cell, while Kuo was the supervisor for the paper’s research.
The paper underwent three “major” corrections in 2007 and 2008, but not only did Yang not take heed of the mistakes, he allowed Kuo to eventually become dean of the university’s College of Life Science in 2012 and supervise a string of allegedly falsified research, Juan said.
The paper has been under a spotlight after academic fraud scandals allegedly involving Kuo erupted late last year.
However, despite facing questions from academics over problematic data originally cited by the paper, all Yang has said is that it has been corrected.
To ensure that there is no undue influence on the investigations under way by the ministries of science and technology and education, Yang should recuse himself of his duties, Juan said, adding that former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) last month made the same suggestion to Yang.
If Yang is reluctant about a suspension, the university should publish the list of ad hoc committee members to back its claim that there were no conflicts of interest in its investigation, she said.
Juan said the ministries’ investigations are based on conclusions by the school, which found that Yang is innocent and bears no responsibility for the problematic papers.
As Yang’s academic achievements far outweigh those of Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) — a former NTU vice president and Yang’s former colleague — and Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠), Juan said that the two ministries might collude to protect Yang.
The ministries should recall research grants issued to subsidize potentially falsified research by Kuo and Yang and form an intergovernmental supervisory mechanism to prevent academic fraud, Juan said.
Ministry of Education Department of Higher Education Director Nicole Lee (李彥儀) rejected Juan’s claim that its investigation would be based on the results of the NTU committee’s probe.
The investigation committees of both ministries are to review 17 potentially problematic papers by Kuo’s research team submitted by NTU and reach a unified conclusion after discussions, Lee said.
Academics linked to the problematic papers are to be summoned by the committees for questioning before any conclusions are made, Pan said.
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
COVID-19 infections have climbed for three consecutive weeks and are likely to reach another peak between next month and June, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Weekly hospital visits for the disease increased by 19 percent from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. From Tuesday last week to yesterday, 21 cases of severe COVID-19 and seven deaths were confirmed, and from Sept. 1 last year to yesterday, there were 600 cases and 129 deaths, he said. From Oct. 1 last year to yesterday, 95.9 percent of the severe cases and 96.7 percent of the deaths
Restarting the No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant would take up to 18 months, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said today. Kuo was answering questions during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee, where legislators are considering amendments to the Renewable Energy Development Act (再生能源發展條) amid concerns about the consequences of the Pingtung County reactor’s decommissioning scheduled for May 17. Its decommissioning is to mark the end of Taiwan’s nuclear power production. However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) that would extend the life of existing
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday demanded that Somalia reverse its decision prohibiting Taiwanese passport holders from entering or transiting through the country. Somalia said it is following the “one China” principle based on UN Resolution 2758. The ministry said that Somalia is misinterpreting the resolution under China’s instigation, creating a false impression that Taiwan is subordinate to China. The Somali Civil Aviation Authority told airlines on Tuesday last week that starting today, any passengers with passports or travel documents issued from Taiwan or its affiliated institutions would not be allowed to enter or transit through Somalia. The decision comes as Taiwan is boosting
RSS