Tsinghua University President Gao Weiyuan went to the United States to participate in the selection of the University of Hawaii president, causing controversy. 14 academics signed a petition calling for his immediate retirement.

This newspaper exclusively revealed that Gao Weiyuan, the president of National Tsinghua University, immediately went to the United States to participate in the selection of president of the University of Hawaii after being re-elected for the second term, causing controversy inside and outside the school, and the turmoil has not subsided for several months. Liang Gengyi, an academician of Academia Sinica, who was the convener of the Tsinghua University President Selection Committee, and Shi Wei, former president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and other 14 academic and industrial figures initiated a joint petition, pointing out that the incident has caused increasingly superficial differences among teachers, students, colleagues and alumni of Tsinghua University, and has also led to negative reviews of Tsinghua University's handling process. They called on Gao Weiyuan to "immediately retire" so that Tsinghua University can move forward.

In an interview with our reporter today, Liang Gengyi said that his participation in the petition was entirely of free will, without any organization or coercion. He emphasized that "we all want to do good for our alma mater." The reason why he was willing to come forward was, "Of course, it is for the good of Tsinghua University. Otherwise, why do we do this and be a bad person? It is our alma mater." However, the signature method is a series, not an online signature.

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The co-signers stated in a statement that in the past few months, Gao Weiyuan's "personal behavior" at Tsinghua University has attracted attention within the school and society. The differences caused by different opinions have become increasingly obvious. The co-signers are deeply disturbed by this, and are even more concerned that Gao Weiyuan's leadership position at Tsingta University continues to be questioned. Based on the overall situation of the school, we hope that Gao Weiyuan will retire immediately. "Principal Gao can continue to leave a figure that everyone respects, and Tsinghua can also reduce its losses."

The list of co-signers includes a number of Tsing University alumni and heavyweight scholars who have served as university presidents and deans, including 14 people including Harvard University Chair Professor Kong Xiangzhong, former President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Shi Wei, former City University of Hong Kong President Guo Wei, former President of Yang-Ming University Liang Gengyi, former President of Jiaotong University Zhang Maozhong, and Dean of the School of Semiconductor Research of Tsing University Lin Benjian.

Among them, Liang Gengyi once served as the convener of the Tsinghua University President Selection Committee and was one of the members who recommended Gao Weiyuan as president. He believes that integrity is a core value that cannot be compromised by university presidents. If the president's leadership is questioned, it may affect the promotion of school affairs and the outside world's trust in Tsinghua University. Liang Gengyi and Shi Wei paid a private visit to Gao Weiyuan on the 17th of this month to exchange views on "integrity" and "crisis management" and suggested voluntary retirement. However, after waiting for a week and receiving no affirmative answer, they decided to publicly sign the petition.

Gao Weiyuan started his second term on May 1 this year, and three days later he went to the United States to participate in the final election for the president of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. After the incident was exposed, he publicly apologized, admitted that he had made a mistake in judgment, and announced that he would donate his salary. However, the controversy has not subsided yet.