WALKOUT: A group split off from the California NTU alumni association for inviting the university’s president-elect, while an alliance of 4,000 in Taiwan demanded his approval
Taipei Times
Date: Jul 23, 2018
By: Ann Maxon / Staff reporter, with CNA
Academia Sinica academician and NTU president-elect Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔)
Members of the Southern California National Taiwan University Alumni Association opposed to the association’s decision to invite Academia Sinica member Kuan Chung-ming hold a news conference in Los Angeles on Saturday to announce the founding of a rival association. Photo: CNA
yesterday reiterated that he will not back down from what he called a fight for National Taiwan University’s (NTU) autonomy against government intervention, in a speech at an annual gala held by the Southern California National Taiwan University Alumni Association in Los Angeles.
Kuan was on Jan. 5 elected NTU president, but the Ministry of Education in April refused to appoint him amid allegations of plagiarism and a conflict of interest, as well as a flawed selection process.
Since then, three administrative appeals have been filed — by NTU students, by the university and by Kuan himself — requesting that the ministry honor the election results and appoint him.
When asked by the audience about his plans to tackle the controversy, Kuan said that he had considered giving up, but former NTU president Chen Wei-jao (陳維昭) changed his mind by telling him that the fight is less about who should be president and more about the university’s autonomy. [FULL STORY]
