Academia Sinica has not tried to intervene in the selection process for the president of National Taiwan University (NTU), even though its vice president is one of the candidates, Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) said during a legislative session yesterday.
The university has set up a 21-member ad hoc committee for the selection that includes nine NTU faculty members and student representatives, nine NTU alumni and others from the general public, and three representatives selected by the Ministry of Education.
Academia Sinica Vice President Chou Mei-yin (周美吟) and former Academia Sinica vice president Wang Fan-sen (王汎森) are among the eight candidates for the position, while Liao and other academics from the institution are part of the committee.
Media reports suggested the selection would take place in the shadow of the institution’s influence.
Several lawmakers from the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee raised concerns about the issue when Liao delivered the institution’s policy report.
He and other academics had not sought to become committee members, but were “passively” recommended to sit on the committee, Liao said.
There is no question of influence from Academia Sinica, he said, responding to questions from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃).
Chou does not have to resign from her position, given the selection is not a political election and her work will not be affected, he said.
However, Liao’s participation in the selection is “inappropriate,” considering that Chou is his subordinate at Academia Sinica, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) said.
“Academia Sinica has become intertwined with the nation’s political and economic fabric since [the indictment of] former Academia Sinica president Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠),” she said.
Ko urged Liao to leave the committee to avoid a conflict of interest.
Liao said he would not take the advice, adding that legitimate procedure is essential to the selection process.
DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) defended Liao’s stance, saying he is fulfilling his social responsibility and that the issue has been unduly “politicized.”
Other than Chou and Wang, candidates for the presidency include former NTU acting president Chang Ching-jui (張慶瑞), former NTU College of Liberal Arts dean Chen Juo-shui (陳弱水), NTU College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science dean Chen Ming-hsien (陳銘憲), NTU Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences dean Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), former Institute for Information Industry president Wu Jui-pei (吳瑞北) and National Tsing Hua University vice president Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文).
Candidates are to present their plans for the school in four meetings from Monday to Friday next week that are to be livestreamed.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS