TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) decided Thursday (Sept. 8) to expel former lawmaker Cheng Pao-ching (鄭寶清) after he registered to run against the party’s official choice to run for mayor of Taoyuan City.

After the ruling party’s initial candidate, former Hsinchu City Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅), withdrew from the race amid plagiarism accusations, it nominated legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) as its new contender for mayor of Taoyuan, one of Taiwan’s six special municipalities.

The DPP Central Review Committee decided unanimously Thursday that Cheng Pao-ching had committed a grave violation of party discipline and should no longer misrepresent his affiliation, CNA reported.

If there had been no discipline over the 36 years of its history, the DPP would not have become Taiwan’s ruling party, according to the committee. In a reaction to the decision, Cheng Pao-ching said it showed the DPP had distanced itself from the values of society.

The other candidates for mayor of Taoyuan City are the Kuomintang’s (KMT) former Premier Simon Chang (張善政), who has also been accused of plagiarism, and legislator Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).