Taipei: Taiwan’s Ministry of Education (MOE) said Thursday it will revoke the coaching license of a former National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) women’s soccer team coach, following public outcry over a research project in which student athletes were allegedly bullied into giving blood samples.
According to Focus Taiwan, the announcement to revoke Chou Tai-ying’s coaching license came after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Fan Yun, Chen Pei-yu, and Wu Pei-yi accompanied a group of affected students to the MOE to discuss the situation. After the meeting, Deputy Education Minister Chang Liao Wan-chien stated that a seven-point consensus had been reached.
Agreed-upon actions included the revocation of Chou’s license, the creation of a dedicated complaints mechanism, and the formation of an inter-ministerial investigation task force led by Deputy Minister Chu Chun-chang. Chang Liao added that the MOE would review the penalties imposed on NTNU and the researchers involved for violations of research ethics and had temporarily suspended the university’s ethics review board from accepting new research cases.
If student research proposals need to be submitted to other institutions for review, the MOE will help cover the difference in cost, he said. The ministry also plans to investigate NTNU’s administrative failings, with the university president’s role to be evaluated by the MOE. Three students have submitted formal complaints, and three others were identified through media reports, Chang Liao said.
Chu emphasized that the ministry would “hold accountable” any violations of academic ethics or bullying by Chou or others involved. Student representative Chien Chi-sheng expressed satisfaction with the consensus reached, noting that the deputy minister had expressed regret for delays in the case. She mentioned that the officials present were “capable adults” who were “willing to listen” and stressed that the students were seeking a genuine apology rather than acting out of hatred.
Before the meeting, DPP lawmaker Fan described the case as revealing “systemic bullying” in both the education and sports sectors, labeling it a “disgrace” that had victimized vulnerable students. Fan urged the MOE to strip Chou of both teaching and coaching qualifications, punish NTNU, and provide legal support and counseling services for affected students. She also called on the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) to investigate and revoke any “blood papers” violating academic ethics.
Fan claimed she had collected several journal articles authored by Chou and cited student testimony that blood draws had been occurring as early as 2017. Later the same day, NTNU issued a new apology statement to the affected students. On Wednesday, the MOE announced fines for NTNU and two research project leaders for wrongdoing in the case, totaling NT$1.1 million (US$33,687) for the university and NT$500,000 each for the researchers.