Alexa
  • Directory of Taiwan

Taiwan talk show host issues 24-hour ultimatum for Tsai to admit Ph.D. 'fake'

Taiwan talk show host demands Tsai apologize over LSE Ph.D. within 24 hours

  17162
(Screenshot from "True Voice of Taiwan")

(Screenshot from "True Voice of Taiwan")

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – On his program on Monday (Oct. 14), talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) announced that he was issuing a 24-hour "ultimatum" to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to apologize and admit that her Ph.D. from London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is "fake."

Despite LSE's formal issuing of an official statement on Oct. 8 verifying the validity of the Ph.D, Tsai's release of an original copy to the public, and testimony by her college roommate that her dissertation is real, Peng continues to claim that the degree and dissertation are forged. On his show "True Voice of Taiwan" on Monday, Peng said that he will sue LSE and demanded that Tsai "admit to her mistakes and apologize."

During the program, Peng called out Tsai and the director of the LSE Taiwan Research Project Office, Shih Fang-long (施芳瓏), and said, "If you are frank and forthcoming, admit that you used all kinds of tricks to create a fake thesis, fake degree, and fake London School of Economics and Political Science Ph.D. certificate, then the international publicity launched by overseas friends will stop here."

Peng then warned that if Tsai and Shih do not apologize and admit their fraud to the Taiwanese people within the next 24 hours, "This matter will become overwhelming, from London to New York to the international arena."

Peng claimed that Tsai's efforts to cover up the "fraud" are all in vain: "You can intimidate, you can go through national security agencies, or use diplomatic means... It is all useless."

At the time of publishing, nearly 48 hours have passed since Peng issued his ultimatum, and neither Tsai nor LSE have issued a response. On September 12, the Presidential Office announced that Tsai had told her attorneys to collect information with the intention of filing a lawsuit against Peng for his allegations that her Ph.D. is false.