Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) yesterday accused President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of self-plagiarism, saying he believed that she had simply translated work from her English-language London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) doctoral dissertation in a Chinese-language article she wrote.
Information that the Presidential Office shared at a news conference on Sept. 23 showed that Tsai turned in her LSE dissertation in June 1983, completed the oral defense in October that year and received notification in January 1984 that she had passed the defense.
At a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday, Chen said that in the same month Tsai submitted her dissertation, a Chinese-language article authored by her was published in National Chengchi University’s (NCCU) Chengchi Law Review titled “The Protection of the Chinese Market in International Trade — GATT Article 19, VER and MFA” (國際貿易中國市場之保護 — GATT 第十九條, VER及MFA).
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Chen said that although he did not know which of the two was submitted first, the contents of Chapter 5 of the dissertation and the article are “highly repetitive and similar.”
More than half of each document can be seen as English and Chinese versions of the other, he said, adding that neither the dissertation nor the article mentions the existence of or cites the other.
Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) cited self-plagiarism for refusing to promote former Shu-Te University assistant professor Chen Pi-yun (陳碧雲) to associate professor, Apollo Chen said, adding that Ministry of Education guidelines in cases involving academic ethics at university level or above state that the use of large portions of an author’s own previously published work without appropriate citation is self-plagiarism.
Apollo Chen asked whether the ministry would revoke Tsai’s promotion from associate professor to professor at NCCU — a process that included use of the article in her academic credentials — if the ministry finds that she did plagiarize herself.
Pan said that the ministry would follow new procedural laws and old substantive laws, as well as other regulations, to handle any investigation, when and if a report is filed.
An investigation would be launched according to procedures, he said, adding that such inquiries typically take four months.
In academic ethics cases, an institution first needs to investigate whether the allegations are true or false, Department of Higher Education Director-General Chu Chun-chang (朱俊彰) said.
The institute would then forward its decision to the ministry, which would review it, Chu said.
Later yesterday, the Presidential Office said in a statement that Apollo Chen was “pointing to a deer and calling it a horse.”
It is common practice in academia for unpublished dissertations to be submitted to and published in reviewed journals or books, it said.
Dissertations that have not been published as journal articles are considered “unpublished academic achievements,” it said, adding that most academics submit their doctoral dissertations for review to be published in journals or books.
The “farce” of accusations over Tsai’s education and dissertation should end here, it said.
Apollo Chen said that while submitting content from doctoral dissertations to journals is common practice, self-citations still need to be disclosed.
The Presidential Office is attempting to confuse people by avoiding discussion of the citation requirements and brushing over the issue by saying it is “academic convention,” Apollo Chen added.
Additional reporting by Su Yung-yao and Lin Liang-sheng
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
RSS