DPP Switches Taoyuan Mayoral Candidates：Lin Withdraws Candidacy, Cheng Takes Over
United Daily News, August 13, 2022
Lin Denies Plagiarism, Claims Only “Writing Flaws”
The arrangement by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the Taoyuan mayoral candidate has undergone much drama. Candidate Lin Chih-chen announced his withdrawal yesterday, and Legislator Cheng Yun-peng will take over as the party’s nominee. Despite Lin’s withdrawal, his stance on the “thesis controversy” is still strong. He insists on it being “writing flaws” instead of plagiarism and claims that he will continue to prove his innocence. President Tsai Ing-wen regrets seeing Lin leave and expresses her support on his thesis. Meanwhile, opposition parties called upon President Tsai to apologize for her poor nomination.
Lin’s thesis of the Graduate Institute of National development of National Taiwan University (NTU) was accused of plagiarizing Yu Cheng-huang. The controversy lasted over a month until NTU announced the result of its review on August 9. NTU believes that there are substantial plagiarism in many important parts and has decided to revoke Lin’s master degree. The next day President Tsai called on all party members at the Central Standing Committee to unite and support Lin in defending his innocence.
KMT Mocks DPP for Candidate Switch, Nothing New
In less than two days, Lin, incumbent Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan of Taoyuan and Secretary-General Lin Hsi-yao of the DPP were all summoned to the presidential residence one after the other. In the end, President Tsai convened an interim election meeting to confirm Lin’s withdrawal and Zheng being the replacement. This conclusion dropped another bombshell for the election at the end of the year.
Chairman Eric Chu of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) called upon President Tsai to apologize to the people and NTU. Deputy Secretary-General Wang Yu-min of the KMT also criticized President Tsai for covering for Lin. Wang believes that Tsai should apologize to the people instead of replacing Lin with Cheng, who cunningly defended Lin. The people of Taoyuan should not have to accept these tricks that the DDP is playing.
Taipei City Councilwoman Wang Hung-wei, who accused Lin of plagiarizing in his thesis from Chung Hua University, doubts the qualification of Cheng. “How can someone who does not know the bottom line of morality run for election? To what extend is DPP going to continue underestimating the intelligence of the Taiwanese people?”
The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) stated that Lin’s withdrawal from the election should be just the beginning and not the end. President Tsai and the current Taoyuan mayor should give an official apology to the people of Taoyuan. Only when Tsai openly admits Lin’s mistake can the impacted academic circle of Taiwan be restored back to its peacefulness. TPP Legislator Tsai Pi-ru added that Lin is not really taking responsibility when he insists on being a victim of political persecution after dropping out of the election.
During the press conference, Lin stated that he is sincerely sorry that his “thesis controversy” has caused disturbance to the society, outside pressures to his schools and anxiety to his supporters. He continued that it is because of his lack of endeavor and “writing flaws” that has impacted his schools and even caused a division in the process of reviewing his thesis.
With Headwinds, Cheng Forms Team
Lin stated that the Taoyuan mayoral election has become a political arena. At such a crucial time for Taiwan, his individual future becomes insignificant. He explained that he decided to drop out because the smears and attacks directed to his thesis took resources and space for public issues, which is very unfair to the people of Taoyuan. Lin also apologized for leaving the election battlefield without accomplishing his mission but his integrity is to be kept for a lifetime, and it is time for the election to be back on track again.
On the other side, Legislator Cheng stated, “When responsibilities come, I take it,” and agreed to accept the call for election. He emphasized that being in politics is an overall responsibility, and he and his team will transition seamlessly in order to win the election. Cheng began integrating a team yesterday evening. He said, “There has been some strong headwinds in this election, but it has made me feel cooler and will also make us go faster.”