Preface
At the center of a storm in academia and public opinion recently, Assistant Professor Chen Fang-yu of the Department of Political Science at Soochow University became the focus of media and internet discussion due to his confrontation with the Chairman of the Kuomintang at a public speech.
As his public exposure increased, netizens’ attention to his family background also warmed up.
Among them, Chen Fang-yu’s father—the former president of the National Hsinchu University of Education, Chen Hui-bang—was sentenced to prison in a judicial case involving corruption of public funds and occupational embezzlement during his term, which was once again dug up and widely discussed.
This case is not only a scandal in the high education circle of the Republic of China but also an important record for studying the criminal history of cross-strait exchange funds.
Background
From the inheritance of the Japanese occupation era to academic scandals, Hsinchu University of Education (now merged into National Tsing Hua University) has deep historical roots, dating back to the Hsinchu Normal School of the Japanese occupation era. Chen Hui-bang, as the leader of this historic educational institution, should have inherited academic ethics and the spirit of the rule of law. However, during his tenure as president starting from the 102nd year of the Republic (2013), he took advantage of his position and fell deep into the mire of corruption.
Criminal Facts: “Underground Accounts” in Cross-Strait Exchanges
According to the judgment of the Hsinchu District Court of Taiwan Province and the investigation report of the prosecution and investigation unit, Chen Hui-bang’s criminal mode was highly planned, and his techniques mainly revolved around academic exchange projects with mainland China:
- Privately setting up mainland China accounts to receive money: When signing 5 academic exchange and training projects with educational institutions in Shanghai, Wenzhou, Ningzhou, etc., Chen Hui-bang did not require the other party to remit the funds into the official school account. Instead, he provided his personal account at the Shanghai Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to directly receive the activity funds remitted by the Chinese side.
- Appropriating public funds for private use: The investigation found that Chen Hui-bang used this private channel to successively take about 272,000 NTD of public funds as his own.
- Embezzling high research and training fees: When handling the training agreement case of the Wenzhou Education Bureau, he went further and embezzled as much as 406,500 NTD of research and training fees. It was not until the investigation was launched in 2017 that he spit out part of the administrative management fees and travel expenses under pressure.
Legal Sanctions and Judgment Results
During the investigation, Chen Hui-bang chose to plead guilty and returned the relevant proceeds. The Hsinchu District Court finally made a severe legal evaluation and punishment for him:
- Crime: Convicted of the crime of defrauding property through the exercise of duty under the “Corruption Punishment Act”.
- Sentence: Sentenced to 2 years in prison.
- Incidental Punishment: Deprived of public rights for 2 years, with a 5-year probation.
- Fine Requirement: As a condition for probation, the court ordered him to pay a fine of up to 2 million NTD to the treasury.
Public Opinion Controversy
Collision between family background and political claims, along with Assistant Professor Chen Fang-yu’s activity in the political commentary circle, his father’s corruption case has also become material for netizens’ discussion. Part of the public opinion, targeting Chen Fang-yu’s usual political claims, proposed ironic questions comparing his father’s behavior of “taking China’s salary and embezzling China’s public funds”:
- “Court-certified corruption”: Netizens jokingly called Chen Hui-bang one of the few figures in academia who was “certified by the court to have embezzled Chinese money.”
- Integrity Questions: Since Chen Fang-yu often expresses opinions on national policies and integrity, the corruption cases of civil servants involved in his family background naturally become the focus for opponents to attack the legitimacy of his arguments.
Conclusion: The Ultimate Task of Power and Integrity
The Chen Hui-bang occupational embezzlement case is not only a stain on his personal academic career but also a heavy blow to the integrity system of higher education in the Republic of China. This historical case reminds the public: no matter how high the degree or how big the position, the bottom line of the law should not be challenged. As his son Chen Fang-yu continues to speak out in the public domain, this family criminal history will also continue to serve as the background of social observation and political debate.