This newspaper exclusively revealed that National Tsinghua University President Gao Weiyuan went to the United States to participate in the selection of presidents of other universities after being re-elected for the second time. This caused controversy. Liang Gengyi, an academician of Academia Sinica, who was the convener of the Tsinghua University President Selection Committee, and 14 other academic and industrial figures signed a petition calling on Gao Weiyuan to retire. Liang Gengyi said in an interview on the 24th that he could not accept the explanation that "Eastern and Western cultures are different and it is common in the United States." He has been in the United States for more than 30 years and has worked at Johns Hopkins University for 28 years.
Liang Gengyi also pointed out that Tsinghua University has always played a leading role in Taiwan’s higher education in the past, taking the transformation of the “50 billion in five years” into higher education intensive development plan as an example. In 2017, the Ministry of Education was preparing to shift from a five-year, RMB 50 billion plan to a plan to deepen higher education, but the policy direction and resource allocation of research universities were unclear for a time. The then president of Tsing University, He Chenhong, took the initiative to contact the presidents of research universities including National Yang-Ming University, National Cheng Kung University, and National Central University, and visited the then President Tsai Ing-wen to report to the government the concerns of research universities about higher education resources and policy directions.
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Liang Gengyi said that the government quickly determined relevant policies. This was just one example of Tsinghua University’s influence on major higher education issues in the past. He was worried that Gao Weiyuan’s integrity controversy would continue to spread, which might cause Tsinghua University to lose its original leadership role in Taiwan’s higher education. “Everyone outside is waiting to see how Tsinghua University handles this matter.”
Liang Gengyi said that strictly speaking, alumni should not have come forward to ask the president to leave or stay, but should have been handled by teachers and students on campus. However, we have not seen strong expressions of concern within the school for some time, and many alumni groups have continued discussions. Therefore, 14 people decided to sign a petition, hoping that Gao Weiyuan would understand the seriousness of the matter and the possible impact on Tsinghua University now and in the future. "I hope he can retreat bravely and take the overall situation into consideration."
Liang Gengyi revealed that he and Shi Wei, the former president of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, originally did not want to publicly sign the petition, so they first communicated with Gao Weiyuan last Thursday. Liang Gengyi went to Hsinchu in person, and Shi Wei was originally planning to return to Taiwan from Hong Kong, but due to unforeseen circumstances, he decided to participate via video conference instead. The two told Gao Weiyuan that they were also co-signers, "I think he might be shocked to a certain extent," especially since Liang Gengyi was the convener of the selection committee.
Liang Gengyi said that Gao Weiyuan said at the time that he needed time to discuss with his family. They also believed that such an important matter really needed to be thought about. "But the final decision should be his own. We are all adults and we have to make our own decisions." After waiting for a week and still not receiving a clear answer, he decided to publicly sign the petition.
Liang Gengyi emphasized that the core of the dispute is still "integrity." Even if Gao Weiyuan previously accepted offers from other schools, it can be discussed, but since his second term begins on May 1, it means he has accepted a renewal. "That means moving forward," and he should not continue to participate in the selection of other principals. Leaders must be role models. Once teachers and students have doubts about the principal's integrity, it will be more difficult to implement school affairs.
Liang Gengyi also bluntly said that Gao Weiyuan's subsequent crisis management was not ideal. If he had admitted his mistakes from the beginning, Tsinghua University teachers and students might not have been unable to accept it. However, the incident continued to drag on. At the briefing on September 10, he mentioned that fundraising had not been affected and that he had donated his salary. "I think this is completely irrelevant." Although fundraising is important, it is only a part of university governance. "If you don't have everyone's trust in you, how can you push it forward?"
If Gao Weiyuan finally decides to stay in office, Liang Gengyi said that the school may continue to deal with it through the school supervisory committee, school affairs meetings and other mechanisms, and alumni will not and should not interfere. However, different opinions have now been brought to the table, and another round of discussion or even voting may make the differences more serious.
Liang Gengyi also believes that this matter reflects that the governance mechanism of national universities is worthy of discussion, but it cannot limit the autonomy of universities. He emphasized that he had no regrets about participating in the selection process and "cannot look back and think about the past." However, seeing things come to this day, he felt "very heavy" and he must stand up for the long-term development of Tsinghua University.
