Wu Maw-kuen has just issued a resignation statement, asserting that he did not accept the position of Minister of Education specifically to “remove Kuan.” He stated that his departure is intended to eliminate irrational external interference so that his colleagues at the Ministry of Education (MOE) can move forward. Having served only 41 days, Wu holds the record for the shortest tenure of any Minister of Education in the history of the Republic of China (R.O.C.).
TaiwanNext View: Whether an outstanding scientist can become an outstanding educator is a question often answered by history; even Nobel laureates struggle in the political fray. It is no wonder the ancients spoke of the difficulty of “maintaining one’s integrity in late life,” especially when stepping into the political furnace.
📜 Full Resignation Statement of Wu Maw-kuen:
“Dear partners, I verbally resigned to the Premier last weekend and it has been accepted. Since I agreed to Premier Lai’s invitation on April 17, 2018, specific media outlets began a relentless campaign of smear and baseless allegations, while opposition legislators did everything in their power to insult me, portraying me as a malicious person. In my life, regardless of my position, I have faced challenges with diligence, but I have never endured such grave defamation of my character as I have in the past month.
I have spent my career in research institutions, as a professor, and as a university president. I believed that realizing educational ideals was a task worth undertaking despite the difficulty. However, the developments of the past month have caused unnecessary burdens for my colleagues and harmed the administrative team. Thus, I have decided to resign with the highest moral standards.
I must thank the MOE staff. Despite the malicious provocations from opposition legislators, we completed several important bills and the 2019 Curriculum Guidelines. People claim I took this job solely to execute the ‘removal’ of the NTU President-elect. This is not true. My stance remains consistent: Academic integrity is the foundation of a university. A university president must be held to a higher moral standard; this process was entirely about the issue, not the person.”
TaiwanNext View: So, if no legal flaws could be found with the university president-elect, you switch to using ‘high moral standards’ to scrutinize him? Should the same not apply to the Minister of Education? By the way, the explanation regarding the patent application in the U.S. using National Dong Hwa University’s resources still seems rather murky.
“Regarding my 2005 trip to China while serving as the Minister of the National Science Council: I attended two international conferences. One was representing Taiwan in Suzhou for the ICSU. Afterward, I went to Hangzhou for a summit co-hosted by HKUST and Zhejiang University, invited by my mentor, Paul Chu. The attendees were world-class scientists and heads of science policy from various nations.
My application for these trips was submitted to the Executive Yuan. While the official response did not explicitly approve the Hangzhou portion, the meeting took place on a weekend and was a vital opportunity to increase Taiwan’s international exposure in technology. I decided to attend based on these considerations.”
TaiwanNext View (Plain Translation): Essentially, ‘My application wasn’t approved, but I did it for the love of Taiwan.’ While ‘the general in the field may ignore orders from the sovereign,’ you shouldn’t use it as a badge of righteousness now that you’ve jumped into the political fire. If you must blame someone, blame the DPP for picking you for this role.
“Our younger generation faces a rapidly changing world. Our education must not fall into a quagmire due to ideological confrontation but must return to rational discussion. As one of the proudest free and democratic nations in the world, Taiwan still has room to grow politically. I believe we will work together to defend academic freedom and the values of social justice.”