Former National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) women's soccer coach Chou Tai-ying (周台英) has been dismissed and barred from teaching at the school for four years over allegations she coerced students into giving blood samples for research projects, the school’s Faculty Evaluation Committee announced today.
The committee in a statement said it has decided to dismiss Chou and would not rehire her within the next four years in accordance with Article 15 of the Teachers’ Act (教師法).
It reached the decision during a meeting on Wednesday after the completion of a three-stage faculty evaluation process.
Photo: Taipei Times
A majority of the committee members voted in favor of the decision by secret ballot, it said.
Chou, 61, is accused of forcing student athletes to participate in research projects that required them to provide blood samples from 2019 to last year.
The committee discussed whether the case involved bullying and a breach of academic ethics.
It reviewed evidence, including sound clips, media interviews with students, and interviews with soccer team members and research participants conducted by various departments of the university, the statement said.
Chou did not obtain the informed consent of the students when they were subjected to blood drawing, the committee said, adding that students signed consent forms that did not fully explain how the blood tests were related to their training.
Chou admitted that the blood drawings were sometimes not conducted by medical professionals, which was clearly illegal, the statement said.
Chou allegedly threatened students with the loss of course credits required for graduation and isolation of individual athletes.
Chou's continuous bullying caused students to suffer mentally, physically and financially in an unfriendly and repressive environment for a long time, the statement said.
The committee found Chou had verbally abused the students exploiting her status as a senior coach, which was inappropriate, it added.
The committee called it a "severe campus bullying case," considering the unequal power dynamics, the number of student victims and the impact on students’ physical and mental health, and their right to education, it said.
The committee said it is necessary to dismiss Chou to ensure students’ wellbeing, a safe campus, appropriate interactions between soccer team coach and members, and mutual trust and harmony among teachers and students.
The case was handled in accordance with the letter sent from the Ministry of Education on Friday last week and the decision made in the committee’s meeting the following day, the statement said.
The university had initially imposed disciplinary measures that barred Chou from receiving pay raises, overtime or taking on executive or part-time teaching roles.
That decision followed a recommendation from NTNU's campus bullying prevention committee that she be suspended for two years.
However, after continued public criticism, NTNU announced on Wednesday last week that Chou had been suspended.
The education ministry revoked her coaching license the following day, fined the university NT$1.1 million (US$33,687) and ordered it to relaunch its faculty review process.
The Chinese Taipei Football Association on Wednesday said it had revoked Chou's coaching license over her involvement in the case.
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