Letter to NCKU president, Kao Chiang

Professor Kao Chiang
President
Professor Kao Chiang
President,
National Cheng Kung University
Tainan, Taiwan

cc: Ministry of Education

18 May 2003

Dear President Kao,

I would like to address, briefly, several issues regarding the
Ministry award decision, in my favor, dated 8 January 2001.
You are certainly aware of the noncompliance of the university
administration regarding the enforcement of that ruling until recently,
when I was issued two retroactive contracts for the academic years 1999
to 2003.
In addition, as I understand it, the Department of Foreign
Languages and Literature was recently given a deadline of 15 May, 2003
to submit my name for the issuance of next year's teaching contract, in
compliance with the Ministry ruling of 8 January 2001. I have been
informed that, instead of submitting my name, pursuant to the request of
the personnel office, the department suggested it would "review" me
again, based on accusations already rejected in the Ministry ruling of 8
January 2001.
Please be advised, Professor Kao, that our university is governed
by law. The Ministry ruling already mentioned is the law and no
official can arbitrarily interpret, reverse, nullify, attenuate, or even
approve the legal benefits of that ruling or otherwise impede its
enforcement, which includes issuance of a continuous contract to August,
2005 and beyond.
In a democracy, an official must execute the law, not "review" it.
An attempt at another "review" is, in fact, an attempt to nullify the
Ministry ruling of 8 January 2001 and is legally improper. Merely the
fact that the university has been compelled to issue two two-year
retroactive contracts should be sufficient in itself to warn the
university administration of the binding legal authority of the Ministry
ruling. It is your responsibility, as president of the university, to
recognize this, however belatedly.
Apart from the Ministry ruling, the letter from the personnel
office, which established a deadline of 15 May, is an official letter.
An official letter cannot be answered unofficially, by telephone or
hearsay. Therefore, unless my department had returned an official
response by that date, stating lawful reasons for noncompliance, the
department has, in fact, surrendered its administrative privileges and
responsibilities either to the personnel or presidential office.
As president of a national university, Professor Kao, your only
responsibility is to the law of Taiwan, which includes Ministry rulings
based on that law. The Ministry ruling of 8 January 2001 insured my
return to National Cheng Kung University, regardless of the defiance of
that ruling on the part of some university officials.
In conclusion, please be advised that I am committed to defending
the rights of American faculty at our university. And I will use
whatever channels available, including administrative, civil, and
criminal remedies, to protect those rights.
In addition, I urge you, as host of foreign faculty, to defend the
rights and dignity of all foreign faculty at our university, not only on
behalf of the law, but in return for the legal protections
and rights your compatriots enjoy abroad, not to mention America's
commitment to Taiwan's democracy.
In view of the urgency of this matter, as well as the well-known
dilatory tactics previously used by university officials, I am
committted to resolving this case, including issuance of next year's
contract, within days.

Sincerely,

Professor Richard de Canio
Department of Foreign Languages and Literature
National Cheng Kung University
Tainan, Taiwan
(06) 237 8626