Q: You took your current position during the 1990s, a time when the number of local universities was rapidly expanding. What do you think of the concomitant reduction in resources available to individual universities, and the relationship of both cooperation and competition that is emerging among them? Are you concerned that NTU's advantage will dwindle?

A: Currently, there are more than 150 universities in Taiwan. According to statistics, an average of NT$210,000 in educational funding was spent per college student in 1991, but this figure had dropped to NT$140,000 by last year. Compare this to college students in other countries. At Japan's Tokyo University, the comparable figure is more than NT$2 million, and at Hong Kong University more than NT$900,000. Personal income in South Korea is lower than in Taiwan, but the average expenditure per university student is NT$300,000. A few years ago, the South Korean government promoted the Brain Korea 21 initiative, with the aim of making Korea more competitive in the 21st century. After Korea embarked on this initiative, the number of research monographs produced in its universities has skyrocketed since 1996. This demonstrates that the allocation of additional resources can produce an impact.

A few years ago, mainland China initiated the "211 Plan," which aimed to give China 100 world-class universities by the year 2010. Subsequently, the objective was modified, with Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, and Shanghai Jiao Tung University selected from the 100 universities as the focus for these efforts. As such, they were provided with additional grants for enhancing campus infrastructure, adjusting faculty salaries, and funding research projects-thereby raising overall standards. For Peking University, one year's budget is roughly RMB200 million (more than NT$800 million). The focus program also provides additional funding of RMB1.8 billion-a huge sum. In contrast, the dilution of Taiwan's higher education resources has been extremely severe.

Q: The Ministry of Education hopes to have a local university among the world's top 100 within ten years. What must NTU do in order to achieve this objective?

A: In 1999, the Executive Yuan's Science and Technology Advisory Group recommended that since universities are the driving force behind a country's economic and technological development, Taiwan should establish a diversified higher education system. Universities can, according to their particular position, determine a vision and mission, with each directing its efforts toward being a research university, teaching university, or community college. Simultaneously, at least one university should be selected to receive more extensive funding to encourage innovative research in the hope of bringing it into the ranks of world-class universities within 20 years.

In order to implement this consensus, the Ministry of Education began promoting the five-year "University Excellence Initiative" in 2000, providing funds to universities for cross-disciplinary research, including development plans and integration of research universities. The seven so-called research universities include NTU plus two groupings of other schools: National Yang-Ming University, Tsing Hua University, National Chiao Tung University, and National Central University in one group; and National Cheng Kung University and National Sun Yat-Sen University in the other. However, what I wish to point out is that each year the funding provided in support of research universities totals only NT$800 million, which is too little.

In order to bolster competitiveness, talented people are most important. And to nurture such superior talents, one must give them an excellent environment and incentives. The biggest problem with Taiwan's civil service system is that it lacks flexibility, with promotions based on seniority, not performance. At the mainland China's Peking University and Tsinghua University, professors are classified into more than ten grades, and based on individual performance, salaries range from RMB2000 into the tens of thousands, providing a great deal of flexibility. They are using a capitalist approach to administer higher education.

The pay scale is the most pragmatic consideration. Taiwan's professors earn an average monthly salary of NT$100,000, while Hong Kong's get HK$100,000, which is four times higher. There was a case of an NTU College of Management professor who was hired away from a famous university in the US but who was then lured away by the University of Hong Kong. In point of fact, the Ministry of Education also supports the hiring of scholars from abroad at salaries higher than those given to local scholars, but the key is the mindset of the Executive Yuan.

Besides the lack of incentives in the compensation system, improvements in academic quality have been hindered by Taiwan's academics' customary go-it-alone approach. The approach in Japanese academia is to set a research topic, and then based on this, guide and cultivate a research team. Taiwan's academics rely more on graduate students, and there are difficulties in forming a team.

One source of consolation is that NTU's instructors have already began pursuing cross-disciplinary research, including joint work by the colleges of medicine and science on genetic research and on combining nanotechnology and biochips, and the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science's integration of multimedia digital technology in the arts and journalism. Because NTU's greatest advantage lies in its being a comprehensive university, if the boundaries between departments are not transcended, this advantage cannot be brought into play.

Q: Of NTU's current research projects, which have attained an international standard?

A: One is East Asian cultural research. Should there be demand, people from around the world with interest in this area will come to Taiwan, because due to the Cultural Revolution, there is a gap in mainland China's research on Chinese civilization. Secondly, the research of Yang Kuo-shu and Hwang Kuang-kuo on the psychology of the Chinese people also has a competitive advantage. Although psychological theory originated in the West, the Chinese have their own traditions, customs, and culture. Perhaps we can organize our own theoretical framework from the research on the psychology of the Chinese people. If the work in these two areas is done well, they have the potential to reach a world-class standard.

Moreover, compared with the NT$100 million or more that is needed for research in technology fields, expenditures for research on East Asian civilization only run to NT$30 million, making it a big return on a small investment. I believe that internationalization requires an understanding of one's endemic advantages-internationalization and localization are absolutely complementary to each other. As for development in science and engineering, because the competition among countries around the world is already white-hot, we cannot afford not to pursue this area as well.

Q: Since the Ministry of Education's resources have diminished and been diluted, many people say that one of the tasks of current university presidents is to raise outside funds. NTU's alumni work in a variety of different fields. How have the results in fundraising been? Have there been difficulties?

A: In the entire world, only in the US is outside fundraising by universities commonplace. This does not occur in Japan, and among European countries, only the UK has a certain portion of schools that are able to do it. This is due to the fact that in the US there are coordinated tax policies in place, making businesspeople and the wealthy willing to donate to universities as a way of leaving a legacy.

To do fundraising in Taiwan, one can rely only on the goodwill of contributors. Although NTU's capabilities are the best, and there are many high-tech leaders among its alumni-for example, the Electrical Engineering Building was built through a donation by Quanta Computer chairman Barry Lam-because Taiwan is as small as it is, limiting the number of domestic companies, money raised from donations is only enough to fund a small portion of academic activity. SiS chairman Eugene Duh, who donated to Tzu Chi University, subsequently remarked that good deeds often go undone because people are afraid of the demands that will be made on them once they do something good. After he made the donation, every university then began approaching him, and even the Academia Sinica solicited donations from him!

We maintain our hope that the government will energetically support increases to academic quality at Taiwan's universities. If only the competitiveness of one or two universities can be strengthened, according to the principle of the rising tide lifting all boats, other universities will follow suit.

Q: In the ten years you have served as president of NTU, what objectives do you believe you have already achieved?

A: Outsiders think that NTU instructors are "difficult," but in fact they are extremely reasonable people. I have established a system that combines faculty evaluations by students, by departmental evaluation standards, and through a peer review mechanism. Of these, the most difficult to implement was the peer review mechanism, which was the basis of a policy that I pushed when I was the dean of the medical school.

Later when I was a candidate for the university presidency, many people suspected that I might try to force this policy on them, and this put people on the defensive. Instead, I waited two or three years, then I began gradually promoting the concept, and subsequently it was brought up for discussion at the university affairs meeting. In the end, it was NTU instructors themselves who approved this system-which is equivalent to saying that they were willing to accept the challenge of meeting very demanding standards for themselves-and gradually, NTU's overall potential came to be realized. I know that other universities wanted to emulate NTU, but they were thwarted by resistance from their faculty. NTU has been able to achieve democracy on campus-and this is very reassuring.

"Earnestness, scholarship, patriotism, benevolence"--this is the exhortation to students bequeathed by former National Taiwan University president Fu Ssu-nien. As time passes, this message is passed to generation after generation of freshmen. The photograph shows Chen Wei-jao with students after freshman orientation.