Consequences Shape Up in University Blood Sampling Scandal

TaiwanPlus News

Officials are taking seriously claims that students at National Taiwan Normal University were forced to give blood for a research project. But with the facts disputed and an inquiry yet to launch, the case is far from closed.

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00:00Camera flashes fill the lobby of the Education Ministry,

00:03but the latest chapter in an ethics scandal that shocked the country is unfolding.

00:07Surrounded by lawmakers and officials is Jian Qisheng.

00:10She's one of a group of student athletes from National Taiwan Normal University

00:14who say their coach forced them to give frequent blood samples to a research project

00:18or fail the course she taught.

00:20Jian says she just wants an apology and a way forward.

00:23Jian says she's not out for vengeance or to smear reputations.

00:40But the lawmakers and officials who met with her today say

00:43this may be the end of Coach Zhou Taiying's decades-long career.

00:47And there may be consequences for others involved in the blood sample research,

00:59as it was part of a government sports science project.

01:12For now, officials and lawmakers are agreed on several points.

01:15There will be a cross-ministerial inquiry.

01:17There will be an investigation into the university's administrative mistakes.

01:21And there will be a single channel for more students who felt pressured to give blood to come forward.

01:26But there's much more to come.

01:28The coach has disputed some reports about the case in an interview with the United Daily News.

01:32She says that while she's willing to take any punishment,

01:35the idea that this was bullying or harming students is overblown.

01:38And she says media reports claiming the students had blood drawn three times a day,

01:42sometimes by people with no medical qualifications, are false.

01:46As the facts are settled, there could be legal consequences.

01:49Taipei prosecutors have launched a criminal inquiry and ordered evidence protected.

01:54The university isn't getting off either.

01:56It's barred from reviewing any research related to the human body for now.

02:00It will have to pay a $37,000 fine and report to the education ministry on its plans for improvement in the next three months.

02:08Meanwhile, investigators are tasked with piecing together how such an ethical violation could have happened.

02:14Klein Wang and John Van Trieste in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.

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