Is Kuan really ‘fine’?
In being elected president of National Taiwan University (NTU), Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔) had to overcome several controversies, but he confidently said, “I am fine!”
The NTU selection committee that chose Kuan reviewed the case and ratified their choice.
However, the review process was hardly objective and involved conflicts of interest, like a case in which the authors of a paper are also asked to serve as the paper’s reviewers.
The Ministry of Education was consulted, but did not offer major input, as if there were no controversies at all.
Certain questions remain unclear to many people:
‧ Can a candidate applying for a teaching position at NTU omit a currently held position (such as being a highly paid independent director) from his or her resume?
‧ If Kuan’s paper was a “conference paper” and “not an official thesis,” why was it included in the publications section of his resume?
‧ If conference papers are not considered official publications, will this adversely affect NTU’s world ranking?
‧ Is it permissible to include portions copied from other papers in a conference paper without citing sources for them?
Hopefully, Kuan can lead the university successfully and with peace of mind.
Charles Hong
Columbus, Ohio
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