Republic of China in-exile President Tsai Ing-wen wants True Voice of Taiwan host Dennis Peng in prison for his comments about her London School of Economics PhD thesis. Meanwhile, Peng wants Tsai out of office and charged with fraud. Tsai has the upper hand and already has gotten ROC prosecutors to charge Peng with criminal defamation. Prosecutors are now seeking Peng’s arrest while he is on a lecture tour in the United States. The Taipei District Court issued an arrest order for Peng for missing an October 20 court date in Taipei attended by his attorney in his behalf.
President Tsai will be unable to see Peng locked up while he remains in the United States. The Repubic of China in-exile is not recognized by the United States as a sovereign nation and has no extradition treaty with the ROC. Further, the charge against Peng, criminal defamation, does not exist in America, the home of free speech where defamation is a civil tort not a criminal offense. ROC prosecutors will not likely seek some sort of special agreement to detain Peng as that would open the door to a federal courtroom in the United States for the newsman. The prosecutors are happy with their exiled Chinese legal system that lacks juries and allows judges to be switched in sensitive cases.
The legal battle began in 2019 after President Tsai submitted her thesis to the LSE Library, thirty-five years after it was due. Critics, including Peng, were quick to cry foul while Tsai and LSE stonewalled inquiries about the thesis. Then the University of London, which was also missing the thesis from its Senate House Library, entered the scene and declared the thesis was lost during library restructuring, a claim refuted by Senate House librarians who maintain the thesis never arrived.
Litigation under the Freedom of Information Act is ongoing in two cases involving UL now before United Kingdom courts and the Information Commissioner is investigating statements made by LSE about the thesis. Now, with the arrest order against Peng, the controversy shows no signs of going away anytime soon.
President Tsai complained to ROC prosecutors about two other critics, attorney Ho De-fen and professor Hwan Lin although they were found not to have committed criminal defamation. Not so lucky was Dennis Peng, who has been relentless in his coverage of the thesis controversy on his popular YouTube news program.
Peng, who has been lecturing about “Thesisgate” in major American cities, says he offered to appear in a video hearing. Peng has expressed concern about his safety and a reluctance to undergo Taiwan’s mandatory 14-day Covid quarantine to attend court. Peng’s attorney appeared in court for him at the October hearing but that was not good enough for the judge who now wants Peng in custody.
Peng has reason to be concerned if the prosecution of former ROC President Chen Shui-bian is considered. Chen, who is still under house arrest after several years in a tiny punishment cell, was convicted of corruption after a controversial non-jury trial where judges were switched, the chief witness committed perjury, and midnight court sessions were held. Chen was also held in pre-trial detention without bail.
Another political case that should give Peng cause for concern is the ongoing non-jury trial of the leaders of Taiwan Civil Government, an advocacy group that seeks United States assistance to oust the ROC from Taiwan. The never-ending trial of group leaders, for purported fraud against TCG members, has been ongoing for over two years. At a hearing in October that was supposed to end the case, the ROC court announced the trial would continue until next summer. Prosecutors also used pre-trial detention without bail on TCG founder Roger Lin and his wife Julian. Lin died during the lengthy trial but the trial grinds on against widow Julian and former Green Island political prisoner Tsai Tsai-yuan. ROC prosecutors, determined to break the organization have repeatedly threatened members and demolished the TCG headquarters for code violations.
Although Peng is in the United States the internet allows him to keep his viewers updated on the controversy over Tsai’s thesis and the daily show continues to draw large numbers of viewers, which according to prosecutors is his motive in allegedly defaming President Tsai. Peng says not so and that his only motive is to seek the truth.
Richardson Reports 
Thank you for exposing the laughably inadequate legal system in Taiwan. Let’s hope once this farce around Thesis-gate reaches its conclusion, real reforms can be made so Taiwan can have a worthy legal system of justice!
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Despite the fact that LSE had denied holding the information on Tsai Ing Wen’s external examiners and reports on the oral examination, Tsai Ing Wen had instructed her lawyers to argue that LSE does not hold such information because those information are hold by University of London. I am really stunned by such hilarious arguments. Why are such arguments? Why must she relayed messages through legal solicitors? Tsai Ing Wen simply have to give University of London the rights to reveal all the relevant doctoral examinations information to the public and the case will be closed. With all these erratic manner in handling all the queries, it really spelt the doubtfulness of her doctoral degree. As a doctoral degree holder, one should have the guts to stand up and face the world; not to hide behind the administrative authority trying to conceal any possible wrong doings.
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