Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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07TAIPEI1710 | 2007-08-01 05:50:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | American Institute Taiwan, Taipei |
VZCZCXRO7616 RR RUEHGH DE RUEHIN #1710/01 2130550 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 010550Z AUG 07 FM AIT TAIPEI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6206 INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7079 RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 4116 RUEHKL/AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR 3794 RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 8326 RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 1253 RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0431 RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 5977 |
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 001710 |
1. (SBU) In response to media, student, and university criticism that the Ministry of Education (MOE) overstepped its bounds in its recently-proposed "Campus Intellectual Property (IP) Action Plan", Education Minister Tu Cheng-sheng announced that the action plan is still open to changes and that the MOE will listen to their opinions before finalizing the plan in August. The MOE's final plan will likely encourage rather than require universities to implement the plan's proposals, which include having students take an intellectual property rights (IPR) test before gaining access school computers and libraries, monitoring student bandwidth usage to detect possible illegal downloads, and punishing students found making illegal copies of textbooks. Although the MOE drafted the action plan in response to encouragement from the U.S. to improve campus intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement, the Ministry did not consult with AIT or the U.S. before writing the plan. END SUMMARY Campus IP Action Plan -------------------------- 2. (SBU) Following Assistant USTR Timothy Stratford's March 22 letter urging Taiwan to set up a task force for improving IPR protection at Taiwan universities, the MOE formed an inter-ministerial task force and initiated the "Campus IP Action Plan" headed by MOE Political Deputy Minister Lu Mu-lin. Lu convened the task force in April and--with no U.S. input--began drafting an action plan. The draft plan called for universities to institute a mandatory IP knowledge quiz that students must pass in order to use the campus internet and library; to monitor campus computer networks for possible illegal downloads; to provide a platform for the buying and selling of used books; and to set a standard operating procedure for handling suspected IPR infringement cases. On July 3, Lu invited representatives from the Taiwan Intellectual Property Association (TIPA), student groups, universities, and government offices to discuss the draft plan. TIPA had only received the plan on July 2 and was therefore not prepared to comment, but the other representatives discussed the draft in detail, and following clarification and slight modifications, the draft met with no strong objections. Public Reaction the Action Plan -------------------------- 3. (SBU) On July 23, the Chinese-language United Daily News ran a front page story claiming that, under U.S. pressure, the MOE planned to deny student IDs to students who do not pass an IP knowledge exam. The story also claimed that the MOE will require school officials to check student computers for illegal downloads. News of the plan sparked criticism from the academic community that the MOE is overstepping its bounds in trying to establish campus IPR police and that university authorities have no right to monitor student downloads or deny students library access. Students complained that the MOE's measures would create conflict between students and university administrators, would be ineffective in improving campus IPR protection, and could affect students' future employment by saddling them with criminal records for IPR violations. Although the article quoted Deputy Minister Lu's comment that the idea for an IPR test came from a central-Taiwan university, several KMT legislators also expressed their opposition to the measures in television interviews, complaining that the MOE is caving in to U.S. requests. (Note: the Minister of Education is from the DPP. End note.) MOE May Backtrack on Plan -------------------------- 4. (SBU) Faced with such criticism, Taiwan authorities have thus far made no strong statements in defense of the plan. Minister Tu emphasized during a July 23 visit to Ming Chuan University that the action plan is a draft only and the MOE is still open to changes, and Director He Chou-fei of the MOE's Higher Education Department told the press the same day that the MOE will only encourage, not require, schools to implement an IP knowledge test, and that there will be no restrictions on student and library IDs. Moreover, he said that the Ministry would not ask schools to monitor computers and servers but instead student bandwidth usage. In response to a July 31 inquiry from AIT, Fu Mu-long, Commissioner of the Ministry of Education's Student Affairs Commission, said that the MOE will meet on August 8 to discuss changes to the plan, which is still "flexible," and will make details of the final action plan public later in August. Comment -------------------------- TAIPEI 00001710 002 OF 002 5. (SBU) Although coverage has been limited to the United Daily News, media criticism of the Campus IP action caught the MOE off guard, and we believe that the Ministry will soften the language of the plan's final version to encourage rather than require schools to take the steps outlined in the plan. Even with this change, however, the action plan would be a step forward for the MOE in accepting responsibility for bringing campus IPR issues under control. END COMMENT. Young |