Academia Sinica yesterday began a three-day conference in Taipei to mark the centenary of the May Fourth Movement, with Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) saying that academic research must be independent and free of the yoke of political ideology.
The movement was triggered by a massive student protest in Beijing on May 4, 1919, against the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government’s inaction in the face of intrusive foreign powers, which led to young people pursuing democracy and science.
In his opening remarks, Liao highlighted the founding of Academia Sinica as inheriting the movement’s spirit of developing science, liberty, democracy and creativity.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
The institution was established in China in 1928 when the then-KMT government was based there. It relocated to Taiwan in 1949 following its defeat in the Chinese Civil War.
Academics should adhere to professionalism and independence even when dealing with highly politicized scientific issues, Liao said.
The movement can be described as a moral revolution, given that it led to enlightenment in different aspects of life, such as changing views about marriage with reduced emphasis on parental wishes, Academia Sinica vice president Huang Chin-shing (黃進興) said.
Academic Chen Yung-fa (陳永發) delivered the keynote speech, titled: “How Mao Zedong (毛澤東) abducted the history of the May Fourth Movement.”
Mao misled followers into believing that liberalism was something to shake off in their ideological struggles, Chen said, adding that Mao’s discourses caused the movement to veer toward Marxism.
The conference, which closes tomorrow, has 16 sessions, with more than 60 research papers to be presented, while two roundtables on the final day are to wrap up reflections on and the legacy of the movement, the institution said.
Across the Taiwan Strait, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) highlighted nationalism and political loyalty in a speech in celebration of the movement in Beijing on Tuesday.
The movement led by progressive young people was a patriotic revolution to defend people’s dignity, spread new ideas and disseminate Marxist ideas, Xinhua news agency cited Xi as saying.
Young Chinese people in the new era should continue to love their country, follow the instructions of Chinese Community Party and work to realize the dream of reviving the great Chinese people, Xi said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
RSS