-------- Original Message --------
| Subject: | Regarding compensation and an apology from NCKU university in Tainan, Taiwan |
|---|---|
| Date: | Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:46:06 +0800 |
| From: | rdca25@gmail.com |
| To: | MOE <higher@mail.moe.gov.tw> |
| CC: | scholarsatrisk@nyu.edu, rquinn@nyu.edu, carla.stuart@nyu.edu, eyemail@eyemail.gio.gov.tw |
Minister of Education
Ministry of Education
Taipei, Taiwan
ROC
cc: Prime Minister of Taiwan, Scholars at Risk
19 October 2007
Dear Minister Tu,
As I wrote last week, I am asking the Ministry of Education to put pressure on National Cheng Kung University to resolve outstanding issues related to my illegal dismissal in 1999, including just monetary compensation (I am requesting an NT five million dollar settlement) and a formal apology.
It seems reasonable to assume that in a democracy if the Ministry of Education institutes an appeal, it is legally and morally obligated to enforce its ruling, no matter if the losing party "likes" the ruling or not, or if the appellant is a foreigner. My country upholds the human rights of your compatriots; I think you should do the same for us in your country.
As you know, I won a legal Ministry ruling in January 2001, yet university officials defied that ruling for more than two years. When they finally complied their compliance was only partial, with neither monetary compensation nor an apology.
The facts are black and white to anyone with any sense of law or moral principle. The university engaged in grievous misconduct (secret letters, unproved accusations, etc.). It held "review" and "appeal" hearings, which sound democratic on paper, but which in fact were farces of what such hearings should be. Committee members neither follow laws nor recognize laws. So all three committees passed my dismissal, at least one unanimously.
The Ministry of Education Appeal Committee then held hearings. NCKU officials attended, as did I.
In January 2001, the MOE Appeal Committee ruled in my favor, boldfacing obvious errors NCKU committees made. But no NCKU officials were punished.
Needless to say, these officials then defied that ruling. Not only that, they then said that, as an American, I had no right to appeal in the first place and even contested that legal Ministry ruling in court.
Though I "won" in court, I won nothing that was not mine by legal right, and after much trouble and loss to my academic career, not to mention monetary losses. But even after this, not a single official was punished. On the contrary, the Ministry of Education reappointed Kao Chiang, the university president, to another three-year term in office as president!
How can you expect the US government to defend Taiwan democracy if the Taiwan government does not defend Taiwan democracy? How can you ask American citizens to show concern over Taiwan's democracy if Taiwan citizens apparently are indifferent to Taiwan democracy? (Not a single faculty member in my department has shown any interest in this case; in fact, from my knowledge, faculty members, including officials, think whatever the university lawyer does must be legally right or he would not have done it!)
Moreover, I find it insulting that while National Cheng Kung University has academic exchanges with American universities, NCKU can violate the legal rights of an American professor with impunity like this. I find it insulting that, despite maintaining academic exchanges with US universities, NCKU can, with impunity, argue in court that American professors have no right to appeal, even after that same university held appeals on behalf of that professor and subsequently participated in an appeal process at the Ministry of Education that favored the professor!
I find it especially insulting that Taiwan is pleading for sympathy from American lawmakers and human rights groups regarding the secession issue with Mainland China, while it is not willing to defend or uphold the legal rights of a single American citizen, even though that US citizen won a legal ruling authorized by the Ministry of Education.
In other words, Taiwan wants America to defend Taiwan democracy while its own government is not willing to do so. Does that make sense?
I have wasted nine years of my academic career on this case. Moreover, I know perfectly well the devious nature of officials at NCKU. Without a formal apology, the university will create a "revisionist" history of my case, making it seem like the university won. In fact, one highly-placed NCKU official even said as much: "If we had done something wrong, the Ministry of Education would have punished us by now."
Can't you see that you are not fostering democracy by allowing contempt for laws at our university? On the contrary, you are fostering a culture of fear and subservience, since all faculty are getting the message that the university administration can get away with anything and, should faculty advance democratic principles here, there is little hope of an expeditious and just resolution to the issues. Finally, if a major university does not enforce legal rights, with commensurate penalties and compensation, what hope is there for the rest of Taiwan?
I am asking the Ministry of Education to do right by laws and human rights values. It is unacceptable that a university hold an appeal process, participate in an appeal process at the Ministry of Education, and then, after losing the appeal, claim in court Americans have no right to appeal.
This is shameless duplicity of the worst kind. I am reasonably certain that no lawyer would be allowed to get away with similar misconduct in an American court. He would face fines and disbarment.
That Taiwan courts tolerate such obstruction of justice as legitimate litigation shows how far Taiwan is from a true democracy. The fact that the Ministry of Education did not expedite a just disposition of this case from the beginning, dismissing all officials who impeded enforcement of a legal Ministry ruling, is a blot on Taiwan's human rights record.
I am asking you to show respect for international human rights principles. I am asking for a formal apology from the university. I am asking for five million NT dollars in compensation, which, under the circumstances, is more than reasonable (in the US I'm fairly certain I would have received much more in both punitive and compensatory damages).
Please help resolve this case as soon as possible and so put an end to a blot on Taiwan's human rights record.
Sincerely,
Richard de Canio
Department of Foreign Languages and Literature
National Cheng Kung University
Tainan, Taiwan
R.O.C.
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