TIMES HIGHER EDUCATION

11 November 2010

Dear Times Higher Education Staff,

In view of the high ranking that National Cheng Kung Univeristy, in
Tainan, Taiwan, has received in your journal, I think it useful to
inform you of long-standing human rights violations at that
university.

The issues, dating back to 1999, were recently uploaded to the
Wikipedia entry on National Cheng Kung University
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cheng_Kung_University). Besides
an overview in English there are historical and legal documents,
mainly in Chinese, related to the case as linked files on the
Wikipedia page.

It seems to me the university's intransigence in formally resolving
these issues, or even admitting human rights were committed though
legal documents prove otherwise, undermines its credibility as a
reputable academic institution. An academic institution stands or
falls on human rights enforcement; otherwise, its integrity in other
areas, such as research, curriculum, and grading, is compromised.
Faculty cannot perform with integrity in a climate of fear.

I believe only international exposure will put pressure on the
university to enforce human rights here and protect foreign faculty,
even local faculty, in the future.

Sincerely,

Richard de Canio
formerly, Associate Professor
Department of Foreign Languages and Literature
National Cheng Kung Univeristy
Tainan, Taiwan