Qing and Ming Dynasty school affairs meeting to discuss whether to stay or leave Gao Weiyuan: I believe the representatives will discuss rationally and "respect the decision"

National Tsinghua University will hold a school affairs meeting tomorrow (20th). President Gao Weiyuan will go to the United States to participate in the selection of presidents of other schools after his re-election, causing controversy over integrity and retention. Gao Weiyuan responded before attending a Tsinghua University event in Taipei today that he respects the decision of the school council meeting and believes that the representatives will discuss it rationally. Please pay attention to the results of the meeting. All opinions are personal thoughts and belong to freedom of speech. Regarding Lin Benjian, an academician of the Academia Sinica, who proposed "suspension with pay", he smiled bitterly and did not directly respond to whether he would accept it.

Gao Weiyuan said that other people's speeches belong to the freedom of speech. He respects the ideas of individuals and academicians, and believes that the representatives of the school council will discuss it rationally. He also said that he will continue to work hard in school in the future and hopes to focus on the future of Taiwan's energy.

Gao Weiyuan attended an event on energy issues at Tsinghua University today. The media asked whether he was considering resigning and how he would respond to academicians' requests to leave. On-site personnel once asked the media to retreat to the back several times on the grounds that the event was about to start and there were still foreign guests present. Gao Weiyuan finally accepted the interview.

Tsinghua University Alumni Association Chairman Chen Libai and Honorary Chairman Xie Yongfen and Cai Jinjin invited academicians who signed the petition to resign in Taipei for a dinner on the 14th. Many academicians did not attend and expressed their opinions in writing. The relevant information was compiled by Lin Benjian and has been forwarded to many school council representatives.

Lin Benjian proposed the method of "suspension with pay" to allow Gao Weiyuan to no longer serve as the principal and find another job. He also advocated that Gao Weiyuan should avoid hosting when discussing his own departure. However, this suggestion is not yet a decision by the school, and how it will be handled remains to be explained.

Gao Weiyuan started his second term on May 1 this year. This newspaper exclusively revealed that he went to the University of Hawaii at Manoa from May 4 to 5 to participate in the selection of president, but was ultimately not selected, which triggered doubts both inside and outside the school. The Tsinghua University Supervisory Committee has previously passed proposals to inquire about leave, use of official resources, when senior supervisors will be informed, and the impact of the incident on the reputation and governance of the school.

Gao Weiyuan apologized at a school briefing on September 10, admitting that he had ignored the special nature of the principal's position, was willing to cooperate with the school's investigation, and donated May of his salary every year during his tenure. Liang Gengyi, an academician of Academia Sinica, and others later publicly signed a petition to persuade the university to resign, believing that the dispute involved trust within the school and that fundraising and salary donations could not replace responses to governance issues.