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
The coast guard drove away 567 Chinese boats and seized seven illegally operating in Taiwanese waters in the first six months of this year, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. They mostly operated near Kinmen and Penghu counties, resulting in fines totaling NT$1.7 million (US$52,440), it said. Three ships — two near Kinmen County and one near Penghu County — were detained in January for illegally crossing the border, while one ship each was detained near Kinmen in February and Penghu in March respectively, it said. The ship seized near Penghu in January was the Yun Ao (雲澳), detained by the CGA’s
Military photovoltaic projects have been found to have used Chinese-made devices blacklisted by the government, including Huawei Technologies Co routers, the Ministry of National Defense’s Armaments Bureau said on Thursday. An ongoing investigation has identified the illegal use of 128 current transformers, two routers and a data reader at the Hungchailin Army Base, Pinghai Navy Base and Tri-Service General Hospital’s Songshan branch, it said. The devices were manufactured in the Chinese factories of German solar energy equipment supplier SMA Solar Technology, Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Delta Electronics Co, Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei and Taiwanese industrial PC maker Advantech Co, the bureau said. The bureau’s
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
Beijing’s recent provocative actions against the Philippines in the South China Sea were partly meant as a “dress rehearsal” for the invasion of Taiwan, former US deputy national security advisor Matt Pottinger said at a Heritage Foundation forum in Washington on Tuesday. Beijing’s blocking of a Philippine resupply mission on June 17 with unprecedented violence had multiple implications. “What they’re doing is trying to demonstrate that they can blockade, create a sense of futility and discredit the idea that the United States is going to help not only the Philippines, but by extension Taiwan,” Pottinger said. Pottinger was referring to a clash