Kaohsiung City Councilor Jane Lee (李眉蓁), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate for the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election, yesterday said that she would give up her master’s degree from National Sun Yat-sen University following allegations that she plagiarized her thesis.
She said she would also ask the Kaohsiung City Election Commission to remove the degree from the column in the election bulletin where candidates’ education backgrounds are listed.
The by-election is scheduled for Aug. 15 and the commission said that it was nearly finished printing the election bulletins.
Photo: CNA
However, the Kaohsiung-based university said that the Degree Conferral Act (學位授予法) has no regulations covering voluntary relinquishment of a degree.
Lee’s case is being reviewed by outside experts, it said, adding that if it is found that she breached academic ethics, her degree might be revoked.
Her thesis adviser might also be punished if a dereliction of duty is determined, the university said.
Photo: CNA
The KMT said in a statement that it supported Lee in “bravely facing” her mistake and giving up her degree.
“All political workers should examine themselves by the same standard,” the party said.
“As an academic, I cannot accept academic plagiarism,” KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) wrote on Facebook.
“This standard has never changed,” whether I was an educator, a lawmaker or the leader of a political party, he said.
“As a political worker, integrity is a standard that cannot be compromised,” he said.
National Dong Hwa University Vice President Chu Chin-peng (朱景鵬), who was a member of the oral exam committee that examined Lee’s thesis, yesterday said that he would cooperate with any investigation.
The two other members of the committee were Lin Teh-chang (林德昌), former director of Sun Yat-sen’s Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies, and Chao Su-cheng (趙甦成), former director of the Chinese Social and Economic Research Institute, which is affiliated to National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations.
Meanwhile, Huang Po-hsiang (黃柏翔), a sociology student at Sun Yat-sen, launched a petition to have the school rescind Lee’s degree if the allegations of plagiarism are found to be true.
From 6pm on Wednesday to 9am yesterday, more than 500 students and alumni at the school reportedly signed the petition.
The incident has severely damaged the reputation of the university, Huang added.
Lee on Wednesday had said she would only explain the matter if President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also clarifies controversy surrounding her doctoral thesis.
Asked for comment on the matter at an event in Taipei yesterday, Tsai said the authenticity of her thesis and doctoral degree have been verified and that her alma mater, the London School of Economics and Political Science, had also offered an explanation.
Tsai said that Lee should face the problem and clearly explain the matter.
Democratic Progressive Party spokeswoman Yen Juo-fang (顏若芳) said that Lee was trying to smear Tsai with groundless insinuations to shift the media focus away from herself.
“Why is the KMT’s mayoral candidate stooping to such a level?” Yen asked.
Additional reporting by Huang Hsu-lei, Ko Yu-hao, Jason Pan and CNA
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
RSS