Professor Lee Tuk-chung of National Taiwan University violated cross-strait regulations, becoming the first case of Taiwan’s Ministry of Education fining Taiwanese professors involved in the “Thousand Talents Program” in mainland China. (National Taiwan University)
Taiwan’s Ministry of Education has confirmed that NTU professor Lee Tuk-chung violated cross-strait regulations by hosting four research projects in China without permission, for a total of 2.45 million yuan. Lee was fined 300,000 NTD (about 70,000 RMB). This is the first Time that Taiwan’s Ministry of Education has punished a Taiwanese scholar for participating in the “Thousand Talents Program” of the Chinese Communist Party.
When Lee Tuk-chung, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at National Taiwan University, was selected for the presidency of the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology last year, it was revealed that he had been a Changjiang Scholar on the mainland and was involved in leading China’s national research program. At the time, Lee issued a withdrawal statement clarifying that he had not accepted a part-time contract on the other side of the Taiwan Strait in accordance with regulations. However, the Ministry of Education (MOE) received a report and launched an investigation, announcing on the 18th that the findings were true and that he had been fined, making it the first case of a Taiwanese scholar being fined for participating in the Chinese Communist Party’s Thousand Talents Program.
Li Duchong was involved in four projects in China
The Ministry of Education’s Department of International and Cross-Strait Education told Radio Free Asia on 19 May that “Professor Lee Tuk-chung of National Taiwan University has applied for three research projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China in the name of Harbin Institute of Technology since 2009, and all three projects have not been approved by the competent authorities. The Ministry of Education, in accordance with Article 90 of the Cross-Strait Regulations, has approved the application. The Ministry of Education has imposed a fine of NT$300,000 in accordance with Article 90-2, Paragraph 1 of the Cross-Strait Regulations.”
The campus of National Taiwan University. (File photo, photo by Xia Xiaohua)
The three projects totaled 1.65 million yuan, and Li Duchong collaborated on an 800,000 yuan research project in the name of Fudan University, for a total research funding of 2.45 million yuan for the four cases, Lai said.
The cross-strait regulations stipulate that cooperation with party, military, administrative, and political organs and organizations in the mainland must be approved by the competent authorities. Li Duzhong did not have permission.
The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers, and to provide the best possible service to its customers.
Li Duzhong was denied last year when he was exposed, and Radio Free Asia called Li Duzhong’s research office at NTU on the 19th and left messages with students and their personal emails in an attempt to contact them, but no response was received before the deadline.
The Taiwan University administration said it respects the Ministry of Education’s follow-up investigation and treatment.
Qiu Chui-cheng, spokesman for the Mainland Affairs Committee of the Executive Yuan, said on the 18th that it respects the results of the investigation by the Ministry of Education.
ROC government ordered in 2018 not to participate in the CCP’s Thousand Talents Program without permission
Qiu Chuizheng said, “The Executive Yuan instructed in March 2018 that current full-time teachers and related personnel at public and private research institutions and universities are not allowed to participate in the CCP’s Thousand Talents Program, Ten Thousand Talents Program, and various other national funds and national key scientific research programs without permission.”
The Chinese government will continue to work with the Mainland Affairs Council to find out if there are any violations of the law by the relevant personnel in Taiwan.
The spokesman for the Mainland Affairs Council of the Executive Yuan, Qiu Chui-cheng, said he respects the findings of the Ministry of Education. (File photo, reporter Xia Xiaohua)
In an interview with Radio Free Asia, Wu Ruibei, a special professor at the University of Taiwan, said that the United States has recently fined American universities 30 to 50 times more than Taiwan for dealing with the “Chinese Communist Party’s Thousand Talents Program,” and even arrested, prosecuted, and dismissed them. If not, but only he was fined, is this reasonable? This is like water is already leaking, only a little paint, I’m afraid there is no way to plug the leak.
Scholars: Taiwan should learn from the U.S. national security units should be involved in the investigation
Wu Ruibei said: “Taiwan should be able to ask the national security unit to go to the United States to ask for advice on how to deal with the thousand people plan? If you want to deal with I’m afraid the national security system should also deal with, the Ministry of Education does not have the ability.”
Wu Ruibei said that the research program in mainland China is not seen to have an announcement, whether Taiwan professors involved in it, only peers in the academic community, close to the leakage of people will know, or in the publication, published articles revealed. The case of Lee Tuk-chung would probably not have been revealed if he had not come out to elect the president or to acknowledge China in his dissertation.
Wu Ruibei pointed out that the Chinese Communist Party is obviously using the Thousand Talents Program to systematically take intellectual property rights, and there are professors in Taiwan who have gone to the mainland to implement space science programs in the past, which is very serious. Taiwan should do stricter regulation for confidential areas.
National security issues, can not be fined 300,000? If there is no serious national security problem, we should give back the freedom that academics across the Taiwan Strait should have.
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