TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A senior Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) official said Thursday (July 21) that the party would not replace its candidate for mayor of Taoyuan City despite allegations of plagiarism about his master’s thesis.

Former Hsinchu City Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅), who is running for Taoyuan mayor in the Nov. 26 elections, has denied the allegations and threatened to sue his Kuomintang (KMT) accusers for slander.

If a probe by National Taiwan University (NTU) failed to come up with conclusive evidence of plagiarism against Lin, the result might even favor the candidate’s campaign, said DPP Deputy Secretary General Sidney Lin (林鶴明). The university announced Wednesday (July 20) that it was setting up a review committee to complete an investigation into the Graduate Institute of National Development master’s thesis within two months.

Sidney Lin said the candidate had responded to the accusations, and that he would continue to do so and provide evidence if doubts persist, CNA reported. Even though the candidates for the Nov. 26 local elections have not registered yet, the DPP would not suddenly replace Lin Chih-chien at this stage, the party official told a radio interview.

He added he had seen the information about the master’s thesis and believed the candidate would be able to give a clear explanation to the public and win the voters’ trust.