The Cabinet yesterday expressed the hope that National Taiwan University (NTU) would restart the process to select a new president and not let the multiple contentious issues that have arisen following a school committee’s election of Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), whom the government refuses to accept, slow down its trajectory toward progress and advancement.
The university should move forward on the matter after the Ministry of Education sent an official letter to the school asking it to remedy and then restart the selection process, Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
Addressing criticism of the government’s focus on alleged flaws in the process used to elect Kuan, Hsu said that multiple regulations and principles, including an amendment to NTU rules allowing its professors and administrators to simultaneously work in the private sector, require the university to sign an industry-academia collaboration agreement and give written consent before an individual can assume a position at a private company.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
It is therefore clear that Kuan broke the rules when he assumed a position at Taiwan Mobile Co without the university’s approval, he said, adding that he hoped the media would “stop distorting” the truth in reports on the issue.
NTU is expected to hold a university affairs committee meeting today to address the Kuan issue and other matters related to the selection of a president.
NTU Student Association president Lin Yen-ting (林彥廷) and about 200 students gathered in front of the university library yesterday afternoon to urge the school to choose a president whose selection is uncontested.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai