Rights Abuses at a Taiwan University

21 April 2007

     To document human rights in Taiwan, I list events related to my illegal dismissal by National Cheng Kung University (NCKU).
     In 1999, using secret and unproved accusations, all three NCKU review committees upheld my dismissal. The university appeals committee "nullified" the dismissal in December 1999 but required "further review," on the basis I was a foreigner.
     On appeal, the Ministry of Education (MOE) canceled the university's dismissal on 8 January 2001.
     With impunity, NCKU defied this ruling until May 2003. Though the university held appeal hearings and attended the MOE appeal, once it lost, it filed a lawsuit claiming foreign faculty had no right to appeal.
     The court upheld the MOE ruling. But the university revived previous accusations and denied me increments for six years, though the MOE warned this could not  be done.
     Yet not one official involved has been punished. The MOE even approved the NCKU president for a second term after he defied its ruling!
     Despite formal complaints, the Control Yuan has not imposed penalties.
     The vaunted "Taiwan Human Rights Commisssion" has not responded.
     Taiwan's high-profile "Human Rights" groups have not helped.
     The Executive Yuan forwards my complaints to the MOE, which forwards it to the university. It's like musical chairs. Only the music doesn't stop.
     The English-language newspapers, clamorous about Taiwan's democracy, ignore my letters. But a rumor that Sean Connery supported local independence captivated Taiwan's press for days!
     Court redress is limited. After intermittent hearings lasting months, I received only my due, nothing more. University officials lost nothing and had the satisfaction of impeding my career for nearly nine years and still counting (several appeals are pending).
     Related court cases proved futile.
     The student who secretly claimed I unfairly failed her eight years before was not punished. The court argued her letter did not directly cause my dismissal.
     Another court denied me back interest for withheld salary on the basis I was employed elsewhere during my dismissal.
     A third court ruled my visa costs were routine and could not be compensated. Yet my unemployment prevented my eligibility for resident status, forcing me to apply for numerous tourist visas abroad, with heavy travel costs.
     A related issue is why a university that scorns human rights is allowed to maintain sister exchanges with US universities.
     The issues are black-and-white and involve high government agencies. Taiwan's government should not tolerate human rights abuses yet ask international sympathy and support on the basis of its democracy.

     Sincerely,


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