The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree.
The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election.
Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984.
Photo: Yang Kuo-wen, Taipei Times
He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that Tsai’s dissertation does not exist.
The Taipei District Court later dismissed the case, saying it did not comply with the Code of Civil Procedure.
Following an appeal, the high court remanded the case back to the district court, saying that the latter failed to fulfill its obligation to provide sufficient explanation without conducting an oral hearing.
In a December 2022 retrial, the district court ruled that Tsai did receive a doctoral degree in law from the LSE after examining the evidence presented by her lawyers.
A second appeal was later filed by Peng.
The high court yesterday said it found no flaws in the district court’s retrial, thereby rejecting Peng’s appeal.
The ruling can still be appealed.
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