The Ministry of Education has changed the election rules for public university presidents, a move that many believe is a response to the controversial election of National Taiwan University (NTU) president Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔).
The amendment requires candidates for university president to provide a comprehensive employment history, including details that could affect their elected position, and bar people who have held a supervisory position at the same company as any election committee member from being considered.
Kuan’s appointment as NTU president was questioned when it became known that he had been an independent director on the board of Taiwan Mobile Co, when a company official was on the election committee, and held a teaching position at a university in China.
Photo: Lin Hsiao-yun, Taipei Times
In March, Richard Tsai (蔡明興), a committee member and Taiwan Mobile’s vice president, said that he had not been informed of the conflict of interest.
The amendment should reduce the chance of a conflict when university presidents are elected, Ministry of Education Department of Personnel Director Chen Kun-yuan (陳焜元) said on Friday.
National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism, National University of Kaohsiung, National Taiwan Ocean University, National Changhua University of Education and National Taipei University of Education are all to elect presidents in the coming year, he added.
In April last year, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) exposed flaws in the election system, but then came under fire and was first replaced by Wu Maw-kuen (吳茂昆), and then by Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮).
In January, Pan was reinstated as education minister after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators criticized Wu and Yeh for their position on Kuan’s election.
Pan has been busy reforming the public university president election process since his return to office, the ministry said.
The amendment also restricts the relationship between thesis advisers and students, it said.
Kuan was accused of plagiarizing a student’s paper when writing a conference paper that he coauthored with National Chi Nan University professor Chen Chien-liang (陳建良).
The change is viewed by many as a “corrective measure” for when the NTU election committee, citing a need for autonomy, refused to comply with several ministry requests that it hold a new election.
Under the changes, a controversial election must be resolved by a committee within three months. If the committee stalls on the issue, agreement by half of the representatives from the university administration could dissolve it.
A new committee would need to be formed within two months, and no committee member would be permitted to serve on more than two consecutive committees, the ministry said.
In determining a candidate’s academic performance, committees would need an evaluation performed by an industry professional or an academic from outside the university, it said.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
RSS