Following a conflict-of-interest controversy surrounding the election of National Taiwan University (NTU) president-elect Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), the Ministry of Education yesterday said it has again ordered the university to clarify the matter following requests from the Control Yuan and lawmakers.
A 21-member committee elected Kuan on Jan. 5. However, it was later revealed that Kuan was an independent director of Taiwan Mobile and company vice chairman Richard Tsai (蔡明興) was a committee member.
Kuan failed to disclose his connection with Tsai prior to the election, and Tsai did not recuse himself from the election.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
The alleged conflict of interest prompted the Democratic Progressive Party caucus to issue a resolution yesterday demanding that the ministry “halt the appointment until the questionable [practice] involved in the selection of NTU’s president is investigated.”
Kuan is scheduled to take office on Thursday next week.
Asked if Kuan’s inauguration might be delayed, Department of Personnel Director Chen Kun-yuan (陳焜元) said the ministry “does not want any delay in the [inauguration] process and NTU has been urged to make an immediate response.”
The ministry has a standard procedure to deal with the controversial election of university presidents, he said.
That procedure was followed after the election in October last year of National Yang-Ming University president Steve Kuo (郭旭崧), whose eligibility was questioned as he was an associate professor instead of a professor, Chen said, adding that the university was asked to clarify the eligibility criteria and selection process.
Ordered by the ministry earlier this month to clarify the situation, the NTU committee on Jan. 11 said no rules were broken in the election.
As the Control Yuan on Monday ordered the ministry to probe the scandal, it has reissued the order to the committee.
“NTU has to respond to the issue in an appropriate manner,” Chen said.
Committee spokeswoman Yuan Hsiao-wei (袁孝維) reiterated the Jan. 11 statement, saying that there was no condition that would disqualify Tsai as a committee member.
As a secret ballot was used for the election, comments about committee members’ votes were purely conjecture, Yuan said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
RSS