Several National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) students, accompanied by legislators and civil group representatives, recently accused an educator of coercing university soccer team members to collaborate with experiments for a research project, in which they were forced to donate blood three times a day for 14 consecutive days over years or risk flunking their courses if they did not comply. The university is accused of contravening the Human Subjects Research Act (人體研究法) and breaching research ethics.
This incident not only highlights major deficiencies in Taiwan’s regulation and enforcement of the act, but also suggests that this might be the tip of an iceberg.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare is tasked with overseeing the act, which means its head, Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源), cannot shirk his responsibility. I urge the health minister to review the following aspects of human subject research to find out if there are any other violations of ethics and human rights.
First, the government should swiftly and thoroughly review the Human Subjects Research Act and the Regulations for the Organization and Operation of Institutional Review Board (人體研究倫理審查委員會組織及運作管理辦法). Any terms that are outdated should be addressed.
There should also be more detailed regulations regarding who can become board members and the degree of proportional representation to ensure diversity and balance. A biannual review should be conducted to report misconducts if any.
Taiwan’s regulations regarding research and human rights have improved a lot since the passage of the act. Any laws and regulations concerning research development and human rights protection should be in line with the progress that has been made.
Second, the authorities should promptly conduct a comprehensive investigation into how many academic institutions and medical organizations are currently conducting human research and whether they comply with the law. Do the institutional review board members and administrative staff receive regular training?
The government should also establish a clear division of labor. Matters concerning medical ethics should be handled by the Department of Medical Affairs, while reports concerning drug trials and adverse effects should be handled by the Food and Drug Administration.
Third, there should be a mechanism to protect whistleblowers. The Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act (公益揭弊者保護法) was passed in January and took effect on Tuesday. This is a huge milestone in the nation’s whistle-blower protection system.
However, the act only applies to government institutions, public organizations, state-run businesses and certain state-funded institutions, while much of the private sector is excluded. The effectiveness of the new act is yet to be seen.
The ministry should establish an independent reporting mechanism for human research to assure whistle-blowers that their identity would not be exposed. This is to avoid a recurrence of severe breaches of people’s rights in human research projects.
Chiu should make his stance clear, show his determination and set a deadline for these goals. This is crucial to upholding the nation’s commitment to promoting human rights and achieving the goal of “Healthy Taiwan.”
Huang Jin-shun is president of the Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists’ Associations.
Translated by Fion Khan
The cancelation this week of President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visit to Eswatini, after the Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius revoked overflight permits under Chinese pressure, is one more measure of Taiwan’s shrinking executive diplomatic space. Another channel that deserves attention keeps growing while the first contracts. For several years now, Taipei has been one of Europe’s busiest legislative destinations. Where presidents and foreign ministers cannot land, parliamentarians do — and they do it in rising numbers. The Italian parliament opened the year with its largest bipartisan delegation to Taiwan to date: six Italian deputies and one senator, drawn from six
Recently, Taipei’s streets have been plagued by the bizarre sight of rats running rampant and the city government’s countermeasures have devolved into an anti-intellectual farce. The Taipei Parks and Street Lights Office has attempted to eradicate rats by filling their burrows with polyurethane foam, seeming to believe that rats could not simply dig another path out. Meanwhile, as the nation’s capital slowly deteriorates into a rat hive, the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection has proudly pointed to the increase in the number of poisoned rats reported in February and March as a sign of success. When confronted with public concerns over young
Taiwan and India are important partners, yet this reality is increasingly being overshadowed in current debates. At a time when Taiwan-India relations are at a crossroads, with clear potential for deeper engagement and cooperation, the labor agreement signed in February 2024 has become a source of friction. The proposal to bring in 1,000 migrant workers from India is already facing significant resistance, with a petition calling for its “indefinite suspension” garnering more than 40,000 signatures. What should have been a straightforward and practical step forward has instead become controversial. The agreement had the potential to serve as a milestone in
China has long given assurances that it would not interfere in free access to the global commons. As one Ministry of Defense spokesperson put it in 2024, “the Chinese side always respects the freedom of navigation and overflight entitled to countries under international law.” Although these reassurances have always been disingenuous, China’s recent actions display a blatant disregard for these principles. Countries that care about civilian air safety should take note. In April, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) canceled a planned trip to Eswatini for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s coronation and the 58th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic
RSS