Plagiarism in TPP
In August, then-Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislator Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如) was accused of plagiarism in her master’s thesis — titled “An investigation of municipal affairs on elected representatives’ personal social media pages” (民意代表社群網站市政議題之探討) — submitted to the in-service master’s program of Takming University of Science and Technology’s Department of Management Information System. Since many parts of the thesis appeared similar to other papers, she was accused of contravening academic ethics.
Tsai argued that she cited sources for quoted passages in her thesis, and that they were used in the literature review section of the thesis. She also issued a statement announcing that she had asked the university to form an academic ethics committee to review the thesis and promised to personally attend the committee’s review meeting to defend herself, adding that she would respect the school’s final decision.
Shortly after the incident was reported, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培), whose work was reportedly plagiarized in the thesis, questioned Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who is also the TPP chairman, over the issue. During a question-and-answer session at the Taipei City Council, Chien cast doubt over Tsai’s account, saying that she had failed to cite all the sources, and that one of the passages was directly copied from Chien’s Facebook page.
Ko said that the issue was a matter to be handled by the university’s committee. He then attempted to shift the focus by questioning Chien: “Have you taken a master’s program? Do you know how to write a master’s thesis?”
“Let’s not look into the case, or your party is going to get hurt, too,” he added.
Ko said he has maintained a neutral stance on the issue, which was being handled properly, and that Tsai would attend the committee’s review meeting.
However, he did not respond to Chien’s questions about Tsai’s plagiarism.
The university formed a committee, which after four meetings concluded that the thesis contravened academic ethics. It proposed that the school revoke Tsai’s master’s degree. The school on Thursday last week passed the proposal to revoke her degree and nullify her diploma.
At Ko’s request, Tsai resigned as a TPP legislator at large, as he did not want the issue to grow any bigger.
However, she has not conceded that she plagiarized.
Ko previously called former Hsinchu mayor Lin Chih-chien’s (林智堅) plagiarism in two master’s theses “ugly.” Did he also find Tsai’s alleged plagiarism “ugly”?
As for Tsai, she once righteously proclaimed on behalf of the TPP that Taiwan’s academic ethics cannot be hurt, calling on students to launch yet another student movement, while condemning Lin for destroying higher education in Taiwan. Despite her resignation, questions over the application of high moral standards on the issue remain.
Wu Po-hsien
New Taipei City
Marching band builds ties
The Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School marching band, nicknamed the “Orange Devils” because of their orange uniforms, was invited to perform at this year’s Double Ten National Day celebrations to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Taiwan-Japan ties.
A 19-member Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council delegation, led by chairman Furuya Keiji, was also invited to participate in the national day parade with the legislature’s Taiwan-Japan Parliamentary Amity Association, showcasing the strong friendship between Taiwan and Japan.
During the celebrations, the Orange Devils performed with instruments and flags, while quickly changing formation, all with smiles on their faces. Their liveliness and vitality were so infectious that even President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) moved to the beat of the music.
Established more than 60 years ago, the marching band has been widely acclaimed for its performances and won the gold medal at the All-Japan Band Competition last year.
The Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council, founded 50 years ago, has more than 260 members of Japan’s National Diet, playing a vital role in developing practical diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Japan.
Japan and China also marked the 50th anniversary of their normalization of bilateral diplomatic relations on Sept. 29, but on that day, Japan was not celebrating with any special activities.
That a Japanese marching band performed at Taiwan’s Double Ten National Day celebrations clearly shows that Japan attaches great importance to its friendship with Taiwan. This performance also became the biggest highlight of the day.
Tsai’s National Day address, “Island of Resilience: A Better Taiwan for the World,” gave a clear message that the government would bring Taiwan closer to the world, and the world closer to Taiwan.
To this end, the government is not only interacting with other countries, but also taking advantage of high-profile festivals in Taiwan.
It has invited organizations and students from liberal and democratic countries to perform at festivals, which can make the celebrations more fun, deepen Taiwan’s friendship with other nations and raise its international profile. Who does not want to see more of that?
Chi An-hsiu
Taipei
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