National Tsing Hua University yesterday said that a decision on whether to renew the employment of Chinese dissident Wang Dan (王丹) would be made based purely on academic — and not political — reasons.
“Politics is politics, and academics is academics,” said Hocheng Hong (賀陳弘), president of National Tsing Hua University, where Wang teaches as a visiting assistant professor.
Hocheng made the remarks at a legislative hearing during which lawmakers expressed concern after Wang wrote earlier in the day on Facebook that “because the school’s funds are tight, it is not very likely they will be able to continue employing me in the same way.”
Wang, who has a doctorate in history from Harvard, wrote that he “understands and respects” the school’s decision.
However, Hocheng said that the remarks about not rehiring Wang are unfounded because nobody at the school has brought the matter up with him.
He said that Wang’s contract will expire in July, and the school will make a decision at the time based on established procedures.
“The university president will not have the final say on the matter,” Hocheng said.
Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華), who was also at the hearing, said that university teachers are hired based on academic considerations, and as long as Wang’s performance meets requirements, the ministry will leave all decisions to the school.
Wang, a Chinese citizen and one of the most visible student leaders in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, is a visiting assistant professor at the university’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
He has voiced strong support for the student-led Sunflower movement that occupied the legislative chamber early last year in protest against the government’s handling of a proposed service trade agreement with China.
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