Academia Sinica has not tried to intervene in the selection process for the president of National Taiwan University (NTU), even though its vice president is one of the candidates, Academia Sinica President James Liao (廖俊智) said during a legislative session yesterday.
The university has set up a 21-member ad hoc committee for the selection that includes nine NTU faculty members and student representatives, nine NTU alumni and others from the general public, and three representatives selected by the Ministry of Education.
Academia Sinica Vice President Chou Mei-yin (周美吟) and former Academia Sinica vice president Wang Fan-sen (王汎森) are among the eight candidates for the position, while Liao and other academics from the institution are part of the committee.
Media reports suggested the selection would take place in the shadow of the institution’s influence.
Several lawmakers from the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee raised concerns about the issue when Liao delivered the institution’s policy report.
He and other academics had not sought to become committee members, but were “passively” recommended to sit on the committee, Liao said.
There is no question of influence from Academia Sinica, he said, responding to questions from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃).
Chou does not have to resign from her position, given the selection is not a political election and her work will not be affected, he said.
However, Liao’s participation in the selection is “inappropriate,” considering that Chou is his subordinate at Academia Sinica, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) said.
“Academia Sinica has become intertwined with the nation’s political and economic fabric since [the indictment of] former Academia Sinica president Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠),” she said.
Ko urged Liao to leave the committee to avoid a conflict of interest.
Liao said he would not take the advice, adding that legitimate procedure is essential to the selection process.
DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) defended Liao’s stance, saying he is fulfilling his social responsibility and that the issue has been unduly “politicized.”
Other than Chou and Wang, candidates for the presidency include former NTU acting president Chang Ching-jui (張慶瑞), former NTU College of Liberal Arts dean Chen Juo-shui (陳弱水), NTU College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science dean Chen Ming-hsien (陳銘憲), NTU Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences dean Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), former Institute for Information Industry president Wu Jui-pei (吳瑞北) and National Tsing Hua University vice president Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文).
Candidates are to present their plans for the school in four meetings from Monday to Friday next week that are to be livestreamed.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
RSS