Lin Chih-chien (林智堅), the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) candidate for Taoyuan mayor, yesterday announced his withdrawal from the race after National Taiwan University (NTU) on Tuesday revoked his master’s degree over charges of plagiarism.
DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) is to run in his place.
The DPP’s Election Strategy Committee earlier yesterday convened an emergency meeting to discuss the election in November as controversy over the plagiarism charges continued, after which it held a news conference to confirm Lin’s withdrawal.
Photo: Liu Hsin-te, Taipei Times
Lin, a former Hsinchu mayor, made the decision after the university revoked his master’s degree on the recommendation of its academic ethics committee, which found that he had plagiarized the thesis of another graduate student, Yu Cheng-huang (余正煌).
At the news conference, Lin apologized for causing “social turmoil and anxiety” over the past few weeks, saying he would not like to see his “insufficient efforts and writing flaws” affect NTU and sow discord in society.
Public attacks over a personal issue have taken over space for discussing public issues, which is unfair to Taoyuan residents, as their needs have been ignored, he said.
The political achievements of Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) have been overlooked, because of the dispute over his thesis, he said, adding that he “would hate to see Taiwan stop moving forward” because of him.
He thanked President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Cheng Wen-tsan and DPP committee members for their understanding, and apologized to his supporters for letting them down, calling on them to support Cheng Yun-peng in the election.
Although he has dropped out of the race, Lin vowed to prove his innocence by seeking legal relief.
DPP Secretary-General Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) said the president, who is the DPP chairperson, expressed regret over Lin’s withdrawal and believes that he is innocent.
DPP committee members support Lin Chih-chien’s decision to fight for his innocence and would “quickly regroup and steer the election back to its path,” he said.
The members all agreed that Cheng Yun-peng, who was Lin Chih-chien’s campaign manager, could continue Cheng Wen-tsan’s good work and join the campaign immediately, as he is one of the most experienced legislators and understands Taoyuan well, he said.
Cheng Yun-peng said that the nomination “is an honor, but also a responsibility.”
During the time he worked on Lin Chih-chien’s campaign, he realized that Taiwan should take on more responsibility in today’s world so that Taoyuan and Hsinchu could move forward together, he said.
Legislators from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party called on Tsai to “come forward” and apologize for the scandal.
Additional reporting by Chung Li-hua
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
RSS