Former minister of education Huang Jong-tsun (黃榮村) yesterday urged incoming minister of education, Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮), who is to assume the role today, to re-establish constructive communication and cooperation between the Ministry of Education and National Taiwan University (NTU).
The deadlock caused by the controversy surrounding the election of the university’s president should not be prolonged, Huang said, adding that, otherwise, it would be disadvantageous to the development of the nation’s higher education and to NTU.
Huang was referring to the case concerning Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔), who was elected NTU president on Jan. 5 and would have taken office on Feb. 1, but his appointment was not approved by the Ministry of Education amid allegations of plagiarism, a conflict of interest and a flawed election process.
The controversy led to the resignation of former ministers of education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) in April and Wu Maw-kuen (吳茂昆) in May.
The NTU last month filed an administrative appeal.
The appointment of a new education minister offers an opportunity for reconciliation, Huang said.
As the nation’s leading college, NTU has first-rate talent, and international levels of competitiveness and research potential, Huang said.
As the government is focussed on having a globally competitive higher-education system, the new education minister should communicate and work with NTU, he added.
Lawyer Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said he believes that now that the controversy has entered the administrative appeal process, if the NTU files for an administrative remedy, it would take at least two to three years to resolve.
Having Yeh, formerly a law professor at NTU, assume the role of education minister poses a quick solution, as he, unlike Pan and Wu — who were not from NTU — should be familiar with the university’s administrative system, Huang Di-ying said.
If Yeh could persuade the univesity to withdraw its appeal and restart its presidential election process, it would be the most effective and quickest solution, Huang Di-ying said.
However, if Yeh is unable to convince the NTU, he could consider using his right as a supervisory agency to impose administrative penalties on government employees at NTU, he said.
Yeh could even consider sending evidence to the Control Yuan to trigger impeachments, disciplinary sanctions or other actions to defend the Ministry of Education’s exercise of power according to the law, he said.
Ho De-fen (賀德芬), a professor emeritus at NTU’s law school, said the government should once again ask the NTU to restart its election process.
If the university still resists, the government should remove the interim president — Kuo Tei-wei (郭大維) — from his position and report the NTU’s administrative team to the Public Functionary Disciplinary Sanction Commission, Ho said.
NTU yesterday said it insists on filing for an administrative appeal, but would not be so bold as to speculate regarding the new education minister’s attitude.
It hopes that Yeh would help resolve the situation in accordance with the law, the university said.
Additional reporting by Jennifer Huang
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at