教授研究六輕空污挨告 學者譴責台塑鴨霸

莊秉潔教授是登山社的學長?? 向學長致敬! ==================================== http://udn.com/NEWS/SOCIETY/SOC6/7059740.shtml 教授研究六輕空污挨告 學者譴責台塑鴨霸 【聯合晚報╱記者黃玉芳/台北報導】 2012.04.29 02:38 pm 「反對台塑箝制學術自由！」針對台塑集團向中興大學環工系教授莊秉潔，提起妨害名譽訴訟、並求償4000萬元，包括前中研究院長李遠哲等人發起連署，譴責台塑「鴨霸」，呼籲台塑應撤告，不應企圖用高額賠償製造學界的寒蟬效應。 莊秉潔根據環保署委託進行的調查報告，去年在環保署召開的內部專家會議中，發表有關台中港區等工廠、及台塑六輕66家工廠、300多根煙囪和製程中排放重金屬、戴奧辛等致癌物內容，認為會影響中部居民健康。經媒體報導後，台塑集團因此對莊秉潔提告，求償4000萬元，法院將於5月3日開庭。 多位學者今天說，莊秉潔的研究並非憑空臆測，憤而發起連署，要求台塑撤告，幾天內包括李遠哲、中研院士周昌宏、政治大學社會系教授顧忠華、中研院社會學研究所長蕭新煌等，已有近500位學界人士連署，今天上午召開記者會，公開表達「學術良心無價、譴責鴨霸財團」的立場。 中研院院士周昌弘表示，學者對研究成果有善盡社會責任的義務，卻落得廠商提告的下場，如果以後學者「怕事」、不敢站出來，只敢關在象牙塔內寫論文，將不利國內學術自由的發展。 台灣大學國家發展研究所教授劉靜怡也表示，台塑作為「經營之神」遺留下來的產業，在台灣擁有強大的發言權，若認為莊秉潔的學術研究結果不公，可以提出相關資料反駁、或是另外委託研究計畫加以澄清，而非以起訴求償方式恫嚇學者。 中原大學財經法律學系教授徐偉群也表示，法院不是證明學術真理的殿堂，他呼籲檢察官受理後不應起訴，法院也應堅守憲法保護學術自由，不應淪為大財團訴訟恫嚇的工具。對環保署長沈世宏接受媒體採訪，認為學者若本於學術良心，不必擔心寒蟬效應，多位學者今天也表達不滿。 【2012/04/29 聯合晚報】@ http://udn.com/

Jimmy, Thank you very much for the posting. I know 莊秉潔 from the old days. I live in DC and happen to be in Taipei visiting family. For full disclosure, I am proud a member of the Serra Club. I am not familiar with our judicious system, but I am outraged by the fact that our court will even ‘consider’ taking up the case. Without knowing many details on the actual study or the controversies about the data he used, I am so proud of the fact that he is taking on big corporation on behalf of the most vulnerable members of our society. This is what a good researcher is trained to do and it is something all researchers should aspire. I also think there is something terribly wrong when our court decides that they can push the academic community aside. As controversial as this study may be, his peers with professional knowledge and training should evaluate the merits of his research, not the court. I am sure that there are a lot of smart people in the EE or CE field in Taiwan who are much better qualified to decide whether his study is fraud than a bunch of bureaucrats. (Apparently I have my bias about our court, but I stand to be corrected.) I am encouraged by the fact that there are a lot of researchers signed up to protest. But there have to be more researchers outranged than that!! I am surprised that this news did not make it to the headline. I visited NTU and NTNU today and I was hoping to see a gleam of student activism but could not see any. And I wonder what are our brightest and smartest students and faculty are doing when their academic freedom is now being challenged in court? Lastly, if anyone knows of any blog supporting his cause, I will appreciate passing the information to me. Thanks! Shu Jing