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Dear NCTU,

The intention of writing this email to state that I am quitting my PhD studies at NCTU. After spending six months in Professor Sun Chung-Ming’s lab in department of applied chemistry, I lost my belief on this academic institute. This email is intended to the graduate students, professors and higher authorities across entire NCTU.
I could give many solid reasons for giving up my studies here, but due lack of space, I will through a light on some crucial points.
1) No Research Ethics:
The main aim of the scientific research is to enhance our knowledge about the things related to respective fields which could be used for the benefit of human kind. Nevertheless, in reality, exactly opposite things are going in professor Sun’s lab. When a PhD student joins the lab, professor gives him a research project which normally dumped /half done by a master student. That PhD student would work on that project with full dedication for a substantial period and eventually completes it. After completion of the work, professor will say I will not count this work for your graduation; but this is for securing the scholarship. From the ethical point of view, how can a professor say that the work for which PhD students spend his lot of time or we can say years can’t be considered for graduation?

2) Mental Harassment:
The ideal professor is one who creates an exciting atmosphere for the research; the one who guides a student towards the correct path which could lead him towards bright future. In straightforward way I would say professor Sun is a lier and bluff master. He mailed me several time which disturb my mental status. Even I have proof which shows how he harassed the student. Beause of this harrasement I suffered health sickness and mental disturbance. Finally to come out from this situation I had been treated by psychologist from NCTU counseling centre. The second point I want to say that, he frequently encroaches in students’ personal life. For example, below are the few lines he told me one day when I entered in the lab in the morning.

“You came here for only work, you are not a tourist. So, you should not spend your time in trips and other activities”
I would like to add another incident which happened with us (me and my labmates). We use to prepare milk tea in the evening in the lab. One day we were preparing milk tea and he entered in the sitting area. He noticed that we were using Uni-President Company’s milk. Below is the statement which he made in front of us:

“Why you guys are using this Uni-President Company’s milk, you should use milk powder instead. Since, you guys are using this milk; you are rich and I would not financially support you”

From the above incidents one question use to rise in my mind:
Am I a slave of professor Sun or what?
The student also has his personal life and he has no right to interfere in it.
Demoralization: The professor should motive the student, but professor Sun is not doing this. He frequently insults a student in a group meeting. He never gives a single suggestion about research. For me group meeting is like a HELL for me. It is professor’s eternal duty to teach student; to give suggestions when student is in difficulty in his research.

3) Financial Harassment:
The thing I am going to mention below is not my personal experience. According to the reference of discussion of me and my lab mates with professor sun and my personal observation I am disclosing the below points:
When a student’s mind is occupied with survival all the time, how he can focus on his research. A PhD student in professor Sun’s lab usually works on his thesis work and collaborative work with NRPB; but he gets little financial support on irregular basis i.e. after 3-4 months (according to my information, the student who works on NRPB project should get more than 10,000 NTD). If we consider some labs in the department of applied chemistry, foreign students are working only on his thesis work and getting financial support up to 28,000 NTD (scholarship + professor’s support).
Along with that he hide the work permit of student so they couldn’t claim their financial support, and get whole and sole profit of the project in his pocket. It is kind of corruption, which is punishable crime.

It is not research; it business:
Research is a thing where a researcher tries to explore unknown path. In doing so he may get failures; it is an important part of research. These failures guide a researcher towards his aim. But, In view of professor Sun, these failures are a waste of time and he demands from PhD students that: “If you give me molecules (results) then only I will give you financial support.”
4) Racism:
One of the heinous crimes in the world is to discriminate the human being on the basis of color, nationality, religion, caste and ethnicity.
Following are the statements which professor sun made frequently during my six month’s research period in the lab:

I) “Indians are cheap labours”.
II) “Indians comes here for money and not for research”.
Professor Sun always give different treatment to Indian students and Taiwanese students. He always creates misunderstanding between Indian-Indian, Indian-Taiwanese students. The main motive of his behind this is to “Divide and Rule”.
In short I would say that Prof. Sun Harasses the students, use them as labour for his personal benefit. He is running small industry in University from which neither students nor university get any profit. After all we came to Taiwan for education and not for the slavery .This kind of professor make the name of university’s down. Prof. Sun’s lab has reputation that so many students left the lab and university because of this behavior of Prof. Sun. Some of them didn’t get degree even after completing their criteria, some student let in half a way. Rests of the students are not raising their voices against it because everyone fear that they have invested 2-3 years and they would not get degree if they’ll raise the voice. There are so many still working there and getting harassed by professor, and no one listening their voices and problems. I guarantee you that in future this will happen again, someone again leave the University for Same reason which ultimately leads to false impression of NCTU in the world.
I think I am thankful to NCTU and Taiwan government that they have given me opportunity to come there. So its my responsibility to inform them what is problem in the education system. I think this kind of incident make image of the University down and indirectly all will suffer from this. I believe that higher authority of education system in Taiwan will take care of it.
Thanking You
Yours Sincerely,
Chaitanya Rajendra Charolkar