Universities exist to explore the unknown for society so that the whole society can benefit in the long term. Therefore, the Constitution specifically grants universities greater protection of freedom than other sectors of society.
Hence, the government’s management of universities should adhere to the principle of “low density.”
If subject to severe punishment and dense laws, universities will inevitably be found at fault for every action, and those faults are often the very freedoms that universities require.
If universities can only carry out the will of administrative agencies, they lose their sacred mission.
If, due to policy changes, the public and legal activities of universities from many years ago are framed as criminal today, it will cause harm to universities.
The government must clearly distinguish the applicability of the laws it uses and prudently observe the principles of reservation and proportionality.
Politics is temporary, but academic study is eternal.
Throughout history and across the world, academia has often been at odds with the political environment of the time. That is precisely the moment that tests whether a society is progressive and whether civilization can be sustainable.
Lessons from the past abound; history proves that oppressing universities for political needs is invariably wrong.
Those with political power must think twice. (2021/11/12)
Original: Joint Statement of the National University Association and the Private University Association