Taiwan Minstry of Education

URGENT MESSAGE:
ATTN: Minister of Education, Huang J.T.

26 February, 2002

Dear Minister Huang,

I have written several urgent faxes in the last several days concerning
National Cheng Kung University's impending lawsuit on 6 March,
challenging the Ministry ruling that reactivated my teaching contract at
that
university. I have also sent an urgent message to the American
Institute in Taiwan and to other government agencies here.
A message was forwarded to me yesterday, presumably from the
Ministry Appeals Committee. But that message is not good enough. It
does not directly or specifically respond to the urgency of the
situation or
formally address the legal specifics involved. (Indeed, the Ministry
phone call might well have been from a college student assisting at the
telephones.)
The court date is only eight days away. I have no time to be
comforted by vague and informal communications suggesting good intent.
The Ministry has affirmed good intentions since this case began, while,
practically, doing nothing. By "practically," I mean enabling the legal
benefits of my award (the issuance of my contract and back pay), without
which the award is meaningless.
National Cheng Kung University is directly under the jurisdiction,
hence legal regulation, of the Ministry of Education, which reactivated
my contract. Unless the Ministry intervenes to stop that lawsuit, it
will
be, in effect, condoning it, against its own previous ruling and against
my rights in Taiwan. This I cannot accept.
I have recently received reports of Ministry officials flying south
directly to intervene in the affairs of a private university, dismissing
the president upon complaint, then appointing a new one. Clearly the
Ministry is able to act effectively, assuming it is willing and respects
the rights of the injured party.
National Cheng Kung University is one hour away by air. An elite
group of Ministry officials and attorneys can arrive here well before
noon. The contract can be issued by afternoon.
As I’ve said in previous messages, if the American government (and
indirectly, the taxpaying American) is willing to invest millions in
defense of your government, I don’t think it is asking too much to
invest
merely thousands of NT dollars to enforce the rights of an American
citizen, while at the same time reestablishing control of National Cheng
Kung University. This is not only properly due to me as an American
citizen
whose rights have been violated, but to Taiwan citizens, whose rights to
legal regulation of their universities have been denied.
Because of the urgency of the situation (the impending lawsuit is
one week away), I must budget the time remaining in units of hours, not
days (I cannot successfully resolve this case one or two days before the
lawsuit). Therefore, if I do not hear from you within one or (at most)
two hours from this fax, I will be compelled to urgently pursue American
intervention, including direct telephone contacts with Washington
legislators.

Sincerely,

Professor Richard de Canio