NTU watchdog delays findings on president’s U.S. job search, professor says ‘the delay is suspicious’

More than a month after National Tsing Hua University’s supervisory committee met to address President Kao Wei-yuan’s controversial trip to the United States to seek employment, the university has still not released the committee’s four proposals.

The committee approved the proposals on Aug. 21. The university secretariat was expected to publish them, but said the release would wait until the newly appointed committee reviews and confirms the contents during its transition from the previous committee.

Materials professor Hsu Wen-kuang criticized the delay, saying the university had not answered any of the four proposals. One proposal sought details of Kao’s application date, the number and reasons for his leave, and who performed his duties while he was abroad. It also asked whether he used university resources, including an official vehicle or public funds.

“

The delay is suspicious.

Hsu said these details could have been released quickly and accused the university of appearing evasive by remaining silent. He urged Kao to address all four proposals at a Sept. 10 briefing rather than avoid questions by citing personal privacy. Materials professor Chou Cho-hui said the failure to publish the proposals raised procedural concerns and fueled questions about the committee’s independence and authority.

Chou added that determining whether the university had breached legal or internal rules would require checking its regulations on the committee’s powers, publication of meeting records, presidential leave and acting arrangements. He said the university’s handling of the controversy had nevertheless been too slow.

“

The university could have responded to these questions openly, but chose silence, which suggests a guilty conscience.