Students and alumni of Taipei Medical University (TMU,
They made the allegation at a public hearing organized by KMT Legislator Wang Yi-Shih (
MOE regulations require university principals to hold a PhD degree, to have conducted academic research as a university professor and to have served as a "top-ranking administrator" in a university for at least four years.
The new principal, Hsu Chung-yi (許重義), who was appointed on June 3 and is due to take up his post on Aug 1, is currently a section chief in the Department of Neurology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
"His position is merely that of a section chief. How can he be a principal at TMU?" asked Chang Sen-shian (
The head of the university's student union, said Chen Yu-ping (陳育平), head of the student union. He also alleged that the union was informed by the board that there was no need to attend the board meeting on that day [June 3],"
Han Shao-hwa (韓韶華), one of the board members, replied that "the appointment of the university's principal has always been done confidentially. It is open to the board only."
"Everything has been done according to the regulations," he said.
"When we voiced our discontent, the board told us that all it has to do is to report to the MOE, not to the students, alumni, or any other party," said Chen Yu-ping (陳育平), head of the TMU student union.
Members of the alumni association raised the possibility that the chairman of the board, Wu Cheng-wen (吳成文) -- who they said had a prior meeting with Hsu -- might have taken advantage of his position as head of the Nation's Health Research Institute to influence the board members in favor of Hsu.
"Wu had a meeting with Hsu in March prior to the selection process, which might indicate that Hsu has long been the designated principal," Chang said.
"With the institute's power to assign research grants, the ministry should really investigate this case to see why the board has conducted the selection in this way," said Lin Jing-fu (林經甫), one of the TMU alumni.
The National Health Institute assigns and funds research projects.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “[we] appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, was arrested in Boston last month amid US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday. The arrest of Liou was first made public on the official Web site of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday. ICE said Liou was apprehended for overstaying her visa. The Boston Field Office’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) had arrested Liou, a “fugitive, criminal alien wanted for embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes in Taiwan,” ICE said. Liou was taken into custody