"Restarting Selection Process" Must Not Be NTU’s Option

 "Restarting Selection Process" Must Not Be NTU’s Option

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

July 25, 2018

 Translation of an Excerpt

New Education Minister Yeh Jiunn-rong is in the process of so-called "warmer communication" with National Taiwan University (NTU) on the selection of NTU president, on the one hand, inquiring about possible paths, and on the other, probably using the opportunity to divide the members on the selection committee. As things now stand, Yeh Jiunn-rong’s attitude is still wavering; in the meantime, anti-Kuan figures, such as Lee Yuan-tseh, however, issued statements, kicking NTU when it was down; moreover, some media outlets have publicly “prodded” Kuan Chung-ming to sacrifice himself for the bigger picture. Amid such rhetoric for the purpose of confusing people, NTU must remain determined so as not to leave a shameful page in the annals of the university.

No matter what happens, we believe that NTU should not accept the "restarting of the selection process" as an option for concessions. There are three reasons for this. First, once NTU agreed to restart the selection process, it would be tantamount to admitting that its earlier selection procedure was inadequate in its legitimacy, which would undercut in an instant the situation, leading to its collapse. Second, what NTU now fights for is not only asking the Education Ministry to give it a president, but also demanding that the government stop extending its hands into university autonomy, and restore justice and jurisprudence that has been obscured by a hand of authority. NTU can still operate normally without a president, but if it should bend its knees before the powers that be, could it still face faculty, students and society in the future with an erect spine? Third, with the intramural divisions at NTU, respecting the selection procedure is the only consensus on electing a president; if the procedure could be toppled and restarted at will, it would be mired in a deeper vicious circle. Would the next president-elect not encounter doubts?

Viewed from higher ground, the controversy over NTU president selection in reality is not a battle to defend the position of Kuan Chung-ming, but a battle of David against Goliath, i.e., the university versus the new authoritarian government, and also a crucial battle to forestall egocentric politics to gobble Taiwan’s democracy. NTU must sense its own role, leading the society to jointly counter a new political hegemony.

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