Letter to Taiwan Ministry of Education

From:
8/30/2003 10:43 PM
Subject: Fwd: Ongoing Human Rights Violations at National Cheng Kung
UniversityTo: tahr@seed.net.tw

Ministry of Education
Department of Higher Education

30 August 2003

Dear Ministry of Education and Department of Higher Education Officials:

I appeal to you in the strongest terms to effect the dismissal from
office of Professor Kao Chiang, currently acting as president of
National Cheng Kung University.
Professor Kao defied a legal Ministry of Education ruling for more
than two years. This alone should be enough to subject him to removal.
Apart from issues of academic ethics, a public official who defies a
Ministry ruling and who remains in office undermines confidence in law
among all citizens.
Moreover, despite the Ministry ruling of 8 January 2001, Professor
Kao allowed a so-called university "review" of accusations already
rejected in the Ministry ruling, which undermines the legal effect of
that ruling, against the legal rights protections of a final appeal.
In addition, Professor Kao, either with the indifference or
encouragement of his legal counsel, continues to delay and obstruct the
full resolution of the Ministry of Education appeal ruling of 8 January
2001. The International Charter of Human Rights requires full
compensation for human rights violations. There are laws insuring such
compensation in democratic countries.
Yet Kao Chiang's administration continues to obstruct compensation
and effect final resolution of the Ministry ruling of 8 January 2001.
Recently, I received a notice from the university that I was not
entitled to such compensation, citing the Employment Law, even though
both the Ministry of Education and a Tainan court ruled that all
teachers were protected by the Teachers Law.
An official who continues to act in violation of laws, despite
numerous warnings, is obstructing justice. This is a serious offense
and, in a lawful society, should not be tolerated.
Yesterday, I filed still another lawsuit against the university,
for full compensation. Yet a lawful society governs its institutions by
laws, not by litigation. Continued litigation of these issues,
replacing automatic execution by law, will only undermine the reputation
of National Cheng Kung University as well as of Taiwan as a nation of
laws.
Therefore I urge the Ministry of Education to take prompt action as
requested.

Sincerely,

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