The government has deliberately stalled the appointment of National Taiwan University president-elect Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) due to the influence of former Ministry of Education secretary-general Chuang Kuo-jung (莊國榮), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) said yesterday.
During a question-and-answer session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, Ko compared the Ministry of Education’s handling of Kuan’s election and that of National Yang-Ming University president Steve Kuo (郭旭崧), and said there appeared to a double-standard.
National Taiwan University’s election committee on Jan. 5 elected Kuan to succeed Yang Pan-chyr (楊泮池), and he was scheduled to take office on Feb. 1, but the ministry has delayed confirming his appointment by asking the university to clarify issues regarding an alleged conflict of interest in the election process and an accusation of alleged plagiarism against Kuan.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Kuan allegedly did not tell the committee that he was an independent member of Taiwan Mobile’s board of directors, and Taiwan Mobile vice chairman Richard Tsai (蔡明興) is on the election committee.
Before Kuo was elected president of National Yang-Ming University, he was an independent director of SyneuRx and the director of the pharmaceutical company, Chang Hung-jen (張鴻仁), was the convener of that school’s election committee, Ko said.
While National Yang-Ming University was never required to address the alleged conflict of interest, the education ministry has continued to stall approving Kuan’s appointment even after National Taiwan University’s election committee met again to discuss the issue, she said.
Premier William Lai (賴清德) told Ko that the government was not deliberately delaying Kuan’s appointment, and that everything was being done according to regulations.
Ko asked if the ministry had really been following regulations.
“Article 9 of the University Act (大學法) does not give the ministry any power to veto or select a university president, but it has continued to try and block Kuan’s appointment” she said.
The ministry has decided to delay Kuan’s appointment because Chuang, “known as the underground ministry of education,” has insisted that it wait until National Taiwan University holds an extraordinary university council meeting to resolve controversy surrounding Kuan’s eligibility, she said.
Lai must properly investigate the situation, because “this is no longer a problem within the ministry,” she added.
Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) told Ko that university council meetings are held by council representatives and cannot be manipulated.
The ministry has not handled Kuan’s case differently, he said.
Questions surrounding Kuan’s alleged conflict of interest and plagiarism are related to his eligibility to be a university president, so the ministry has the responsibility to clarify those issues before it can complete the appointment process, Pan added.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS