A group of university presidents said yesterday that national universities should be turned into corporate bodies in order to protect them from outside interference -- a suggestion that follows the recent resignation of National Chi Nan University President Lee Chia-tung (
Under Lee's leadership, Chi Nan students have temporarily left their campus in Puli, Nantou County, which suffered damage in the 921 earthquake. The students now attend classes in Taipei and share classrooms with National Taiwan University students.
But over the past month, some lawmakers have voiced deep dissatisfaction with what they said was Lee's decision to "abandon" Puli and harshly criticized him for "failing his responsibility" to help rebuild the community.
Lee again became the target of condemnation when he was invited to brief legislators Thursday on the damage to his university. Lee, insisting that his decision was made with students' safety in mind, announced his decision to step down as a protest.
Cheng Kuo-shung (鄭國順), president of the National Chung Cheng University, said the situation would improve if universities were turned into corporate bodies and managed by a board of regents, much like the public university systems in the US. National universities are subordinate to the Ministry of Education, and their presidents are subject to questioning by the legislature when the universities' budget proposals are under review, he said.
Peter Tuen-ho Yang (
"The current political culture in Taiwan makes university presidents feel uneasy," Yang said. "You don't know what will come out of the mouths of these politicians and what gestures they will make."
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