Sun Yat-sen School, established last year after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) took control of the party, has come under fire for allegedly using an office on National Taiwan University’s campus to campaign for Hung in the party’s chair election on May 20.
Earlier this week, a student found that the school — founded to promote Sun Yat-sen’s (孫逸仙) teachings and facilitate Taiwan’s unification with China — has an office on the campus leased by Chang Ya-chung (張亞中), a professor of political science at the university and a close aide of Hung, who was reportedly behind her controversial “one China, same interpretation” framework for cross-strait relations.
In August last year, when the KMT was formulating its plan to establish the school, Hung said the party should fight against “cultural Taiwanese independence” by spreading the KMT’s core values, Chinese culture and the Republic of China’s historical viewpoint through the institution.
The party later said it would establish branches of the school at six major locations in the nation.
During a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書) asked Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) whether it was legal to use the school as Hung’s campaign office.
Huang said he had received reports of people using telephones at the school to canvass for votes for Hung, adding that he dispatched assistants to verify the reports, which were found to be true.
He demanded that the Ministry of Education take corrective measures over the use of a school campus to conduct political activities.
Pan said the ministry was not aware of any political activities carried out by the Sun Yat-sen School, but added that the agency strictly forbids political groups from using campuses for campaigning.
The ministry is to consult the university over a possible breach of its policies by Chang, Pan said.
Chang earlier this week said on Facebook that a group borrowed the office to hold an event, during which some members of the group made telephone calls to their friends and discussed the KMT election.
However, university secretary-general Lin Ta-te (林達德) said that it was Chang who borrowed the office.
Following a review of the incident, the university has ruled that Chang contravened its policies and is to terminate the contract with the school and ban it from using the building, Lin said.
“It is the university’s unwavering stance to bar political campaigns from campus,” he said.
Additional reporting by Alison Hsiao
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if the next president of that country decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said today. “We would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said during a legislative hearing. At the same time, Taiwan is paying close attention to the Central American region as a whole, in the wake of a visit there earlier this year by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lin said. Rubio visited Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala, during which he
RSS