Recently, Taiwan Kaohsiung University of Technology (KUT) has been exposed for using simplified Chinese characters throughout its final exam papers and for printing the teacher’s business cards with the designation “China, Taiwan Province.” The Ministry of Education of the Republic of China stated that the school’s administrative deficiencies will be noted to deduct subsidies as a penalty.
KUT students revealed online that the final exam paper for the “Histology of Aquatic Animals” elective course of the Aquaculture Department of the Day Division in the second year was entirely written in simplified Chinese characters. Another netizen posted the business card of “Chen Junliu, President of the Alumni Association of the Chemical Materials Department,” indicating his title as an adjunct associate professor at KUT, with the contact address labeled as “Kaohsiung City, China, Taiwan Province,” sparking controversy.
The Ministry of Education of the Republic of China emphasized that university exam papers should adhere to the standard character fonts specified by the National Development Council for government documents. Using simplified Chinese characters in the exams is inappropriate. Directly using content from other teaching materials may also raise concerns about copyright infringement. The Ministry will issue a directive to the school to investigate whether the exam questions involve plagiarism, whether the teacher violated the code of ethics, and any matters affecting the fairness of student assessment and will take appropriate legal actions.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China stated that it has preliminarily determined that the business card of the adjunct teacher bearing “China, Taiwan Province” “has undermined our national dignity.” This will be noted as an administrative deficiency, serving as a basis for deducting relevant subsidies or enrollment quotas from the school. The Ministry will also issue a directive to the school stating that “the school staff business cards should clearly display our country’s name without any undermining of national dignity.”
Kaohsiung City Councilor Zhang Boyang pointed out on Facebook that the Chinese Communist Party has been engaging in educational united front work for many years, starting from organizing the “Cross-Strait Youth Exchange Group of Chinese Sons and Daughters” in universities to utilizing Taiwan investments as a medium and academic cooperation as a reason for academic infiltration. The use of simplified characters in exam papers and Taiwan Province business cards are considered the behaviors of professors who are relatively “fearless.” If the government truly investigates educational united front infiltration, it will uncover a mountain of issues. He urged the Ministry of Education to conduct a comprehensive inspection.
KUT stated that the adjunct teacher has informed the department that they will not continue teaching next semester, and the department’s teaching evaluation committee decided not to renew their contract for the following semester. They have already informed all teachers on the 2nd, reminding them that in line with the national policy of promoting and maintaining traditional characters, traditional Chinese characters should be used in the Chinese section of exam papers for the benefit of students’ learning and fair assessment.
KUT also indicated that the alumnus serving as an adjunct teacher will not have any teaching assignments next semester and will go through the necessary internal procedures to confirm that they will not be rehired. KUT will take this case as a lesson, reiterating to both full-time and adjunct teachers the importance of upholding national dignity, ensuring that their behaviors and documents align with the country’s stance.