TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) election committee met Friday (Aug. 12) at noon to discuss Taoyuan City mayoral candidate Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) following National Taiwan University’s (NTU) decision to strip him of his master’s degree because of plagiarism.

The controversy surrounding Lin escalated after Tuesday’s (Aug. 9) decision by the prestigious university. Even some senior DPP members questioned his candidacy, and an opinion poll showed a majority in favor of Lin withdrawing from the race for the Nov. 26 election.

News of the DPP committee meeting fueled speculation about the candidate offering to end his bid to become mayor of Taoyuan City, Yahoo! News reported. The party body is headed by its chairperson, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), but also includes the vice president, and six other senior members, including incumbent Taoyuan City Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦).

Lin has defended his innocence, with the party leadership standing behind him. Chung Hwa University is expected to rule next week on plagiarism allegations concerning another master’s thesis of his.