 KMT’s Jane Lee copied 96 percent of thesis: report

o By Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA

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 Kaohsiung City Councilor Jane Lee (李眉蓁), Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT)
mayoral by-election candidate, plagiarized 96 percent her master’s thesis, Chinese-
language Mirror Media magazine reported yesterday, causing uproar in political and
educational circles.

 While a previous report claimed that part of Lee’s thesis, An Analysis on Trade
between Taiwan and China, was taken from work by Overseas Community Affairs
Council Minister Tung Chen-yuan (童振源), Mirror Media claimed that 96 percent of the
thesis was plagiarized.

 The report was a “blatant act of political manipulation,” Lee said, adding that the
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) deserves public scrutiny and criticism.


 Kaohsiung City Councilor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) mayoral by-
election candidate Jane Lee, center, offers incense at a Taoist temple in the city’s
Fongshan District yesterday.
 Photo: CNA
 Lee’s comments referred to doubts voiced about President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英
文) doctoral thesis ahead of the Jan. 11 presidential election.

 Kaohsiung City Councilor Wu Yi-jheng (吳益政), the Taiwan People’s Party

candidate, said that National Sun Yat-sen University, where Lee obtained her degree,
should conduct an investigation.

 The city government should then thoroughly debate the incident after the by-
election, Wu said.

 Former vice premier and DPP candidate Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said that Lee
should offer some clarification on the matter to uphold the university’s reputation.

 The public is concerned about Lee’s integrity, Chen’s campaign team said,
adding that Lee’s responses had provided no answers.
 Despite the revelation, the DPP would gladly turn the focus back to the by-
election, even though Lee’s platform resembles that of former Kaohsiung mayor Han
Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), it said.

 An investigation is under way and outside experts are conducting a four-month

review, the university said yesterday.

 If the allegations prove to be true, the university would revoke Lee’s degree, it
added.

 Digital comparison of theses had not been adopted when Lee graduated, leading
to this quandary, university president Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) told the Central News
Agency by telephone yesterday.

 Last semester, the university administration adopted measures to prevent similar

incidents — amending the school’s regulations for managing theses, prohibiting paper
copies and no longer allowing graduates the option of making their electronic thesis
inaccessible to the public.

 DPP spokeswoman Yen Juo-fang (顏若芳) called on KMT Chairman Johnny

Chiang (江啟臣) comment on the issue.

 A comment by KMT Cultural and Communications Committee deputy director-

general Huang Tzu-che (黃子哲) that “if she [Lee] plagiarized, she would have
plagiarized the entire thesis, not just four pages” showed that the party might have been
previously aware of the accusations, Yen said.

 KMT deputy secretary-general Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) said that the party
welcomed the investigation, but called on the public to adopt the same standards across
the board.

 Comments will be moderated. Keep comments relevant to the article. Remarks containing
abusive and obscene language, personal attacks of any kind or promotion will be removed and the
user banned. Final decision will be at the discretion of the Taipei Times.
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KMT’s Jane Lee copied 96 percent of thesis: report

2020-07-23

Kaohsiung City Councilor Jane Lee (李眉蓁), Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) mayoral by-
election candidate, plagiarized 96 percent her master’s thesis, Chinese-language Mirror
Media magazine reported yesterday, causing uproar in political and educational circles.
While a previous report claimed that part of Lee’s thesis, An Analysis on Trade between
Taiwan and China, was taken from work by Overseas Community Affairs Council Minister
Tung Chen-yuan (童振源), Mirror Media claimed that 96 percent of the thesis was
plagiarized. The report was a “blatant act of political manipulation,” Lee said, adding that
the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) deserves public scrutiny and criticism. Lee’s
comments referred to doubts voiced
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