TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — National Taiwan University on Tuesday (August 9) announced a decision to rescind a master's degree it gave to Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) in 2017, citing plagiarism after a meeting by the school's academic ethics committee.

The review meeting was held in late July and committee members decided to conduct a probe into plagiarism allegations against Lin, Taoyuan candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for the local elections in November. The committee members advised that Lin should be stripped of his master's degree, a decision later approved by the school's Office of Academic Affairs, according to the statement.

The school explained it received multiple plagiarism complaints against Lin since early July and the committee later convened to launch the probe, "in due process with no delay." The committee also collaborated with a third party comprised of scholars and experts in the field and hosted interviews with stakeholders, including Lin himself and the victim, before making the conclusion.

"The act sullied the reputation of National Taiwan University...and the school will reinforce the importance of academic integrity and ethics, not letting it happen again."

The scandal drew attention and disappointment from the school's prominent academics, including Dr. Hsu Chieh-lin (許介鱗), the first dean of the prestigious college at which Lin completed his master's program. Hsu urged the school faculty members to "do the right thing."

Lin's "thesis gate" has yet another side to it. He has also been accused of plagiarism in his master's thesis submitted to Chung Hua University in 2008.