Academia Sinica member Wu Maw-kuen (吳茂昆) has been appointed minister of education, Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) announced yesterday.
Hsu praised Wu, who is scheduled to take office on Thursday, for his distinguished contributions and experience in the areas of higher education and scientific research, saying he is “very suitable to serve as education minister.”
The physicist was named to take over the post left vacant by Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠), who resigned last week over a controversy surrounding his alleged interference in the appointment of National Taiwan University (NTU) president-elect Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔).
Premier William Lai (賴清德) approved Pan’s resignation on Saturday.
Lai the next day said that the role of the education minister carries heavy responsibility, and that whoever takes over the position is tasked with far more duties than simply resolving the NTU predicament.
Wu, 68, has a doctorate in physics from the University of Houston and has served as head of the now-defunct National Science Council, at the Institute of Physics at the Academia Sinica and at National Dong Hwa University in Hualien County.
The National Science Council was in 2014 upgraded to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Pan drew public criticism over his refusal to approve the appointment of Kuan, who was on Jan. 5 elected to succeed Yang Pan-chyr (楊泮池), whose tenure as NTU president ended in June last year.
However, Kuan has since been accused of plagiarism and a conflict of interest, which has cast doubt on the legitimacy of his election and prevented him from taking office on Feb. 1 as scheduled.
Last month, more allegations surfaced accusing Kuan of having illegally taught in China since 2005.
Although the accusations were later resolved, Pan continued to ask Kuan to answer the allegations.
Due to the delay in approving Kuan’s appointment, the education ministry was accused of interfering in NTU’s autonomy.
A group of NTU professors, students and alumni on Thursday last week jointly filed a complaint with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office accusing Pan of nonfeasance.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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