Two Taiwanese professors at Yuan Ze University are suspected of leaking state secrets to China. The two professors are accused of teaching in China, which violates Taiwanese national security law. The education ministry and Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council are investigating the matter. That came from Education Minister Pan Wen-chung on Wednesday. The Mainland Affairs Council is Taiwan’s top China policymaking body.
The two accused professors had previously worked in rocket and semiconductor research, which are categorized as industries relevant to state secrets. According to Taiwanese law, they would need to receive government approval before cooperating with Chinese institutions.
Pan says his ministry has already been informed of the situation, and is currently asking Yuan Ze University to investigate. He adds that Taiwanese academics must be careful to ensure they are not breaking any laws before working in China.
Yuan Ze University says it was contacted by the education ministry in February. It says it has contacted Xiamen University in China to verify if the professors were employed there, but has yet to hear back. The university says it will modify all relevant school regulations to ensure the situation does not happen again.
This most recent debacle comes after National Taiwan University professor Lee Duu-Jong was fined NT$300,000 last year for failing to report his employment as a researcher in China.