Author：Michael Richardson（美國獨立撰稿人）
※ Excerpt aus：https://richardsonreports.wordpress.com/author/richardsonreports/
—（July 4, 2019）Tsai, who is now the President of the Republic of China in-exile and living on Taiwan, attended LSE in London in 1984 when she authored her doctoral dissertation entitled “Unfair Trade Practices and Safeguard Actions.” The only problem is that Tsai's thesis upon which her doctorate degree is based is not to be found. Ruth Orson of the library's research services office answered questions about Tsai's missing dissertation: “Dr. Tsai's thesis is unavailable I'm afraid. LSE Library has never had a copy of this thesis.”“All Ph.D.s from that period were awarded under the University of London banner and would have been sent first to Senate House Library, and this being under Law would also have gone to the IALS.”“Unfortunately Senate House apparently never received a copy and the IALS are unable to find their copy. We had to make extensive searches when Dr. Tsai stood for election and I am sorry to disappoint.”……The questions emerged in early June on Facebook when academic researcher Cao Chang-qing suggested the thesis does not exist. Cao said the missing thesis was unsettling, but the fact it had not been resubmitted by Tsai was even more baffling. Talk show host Dennis Peng picked up the inquiry. Peng commented that Tsai's missing thesis was the most bizarre thing he had encountered in his twenty-five year academic career.Fear that a scandal would sour Tsai's chances of reelection and return the Kuomintang to power have kept the lid on the story of the phantom thesis. Democratic Progressive Party loyalists have gone silent on the controversy and Tsai Ing-wen has nothing yet to say on the matter.
大意：2019年6月初，確認了蔡英文總統所謂的「博士論文」無法在英國校方的圖書館（倫敦大學總圖SHL、高等法律研究所IALS）中尋獲，引發議論。
—（July 5, 2019）Tsai Ing-wen, president of the Republic of China in-exile, has one thing in common with her Kuomintang predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou. Both leaders have doctoral thesis problems. Ma’s thesis was full of errors, typos, mistakes, and footnotes that did not check out. Tsai’s thesis goes unread and missing from the three libraries where it is supposed to be on file. Circumstance was such that I broke the story on Ma’s sloppy Harvard thesis in Boston which then got picked up by the Taipei Times. I had been approached by a retired Taiwanese school teacher who had checked out Ma’s thesis because she wanted to know his views on maritime issues. Shocked at the “sloppy scholarship” and number of uncorrected mistakes in the thesis the teacher took out her red pencil and marked the paper up. When the teacher gave me a corrected copy of Ma’s thesis I knew I had a scoop.……The retired teacher was unable to find evidence of plagiarism and the large number of mistakes suggests that Ma did write the paper himself. Less can be said about Tsai Ing-wen’s thesis which seems to have vanished in 1984 when it was apparently never placed on file at the Senate House Library, the London School of Economics Library, or the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Library. Despite fifteen years as a university teacher, in the publish or peril world of academia, Tsai made no scholarly work available nor did she publish to receive her promotion to professor. Tsai’s written silence in her professional life raises interest in her doctoral thesis entitled Unfair Trade Practices and Safeguard Actions.
大意：繼馬英九總統的博士論文被發現錯誤百出之後，蔡英文的論文甚至是在她拿到學位時就已消失，而且十幾年的大學教職生涯中幾乎沒有提出學術作品。
—（July 7, 2019）President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China in-exile wrote a thesis thirty-five years ago entitled Unfair Trade Practices and Safeguard Actions for the London School of Economics and Political Science. Somehow the thesis is missing from the three libraries that it belongs in but was on the shelf, Tsai supporters maintained, at the British Library. Not so says Lee Taylor of the Social Sciences Reference Service department,“No print copy of this thesis is available.”……In response to an inquiry Taylor said,“The item to which you refer is a thesis which has not yet been digitized. You can contact the library of the awarding body, in this case London School of Economics, for access to the thesis.”……The LSE Library does not even have an abstract of the thesis. Tsai cites the thesis as part of her qualification for the presidency. The thesis“discusses the extent to which protection mechanisms can be constructed in a rapidly changing global market system.”……It is not clear whether Tsai's thesis was removed from the libraries or never filed with them in the first place.
大意：蔡英文的支持者表示，論文雖然在校方圖書館失蹤，但是被大英圖書館保留。不過，館方人員確認沒有實體書，LSE圖書館的資訊中也看不到論文摘要。
—（August 30, 2019）Somehow, Tsai was able to obtain a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics despite not having filed her thesis with the LSE Library, as did the 105 other graduate students in her class. Researchers, wanting to know Tsai's views, looked in vain for the thesis until finally the missing document attracted media attention in June 2019. Tsai's supporters blamed London libraries, scanning backlogs, and catalog mistakes. After it became clear Tsai did not submit her thesis as required she made a tardy submission by fax. Tsai also slapped a restricted access copyright limitation on the thesis preventing copying the document. Professor Hwan Lin, a Taiwanese-American at Belk College in the United States, decided to do a little research himself and issued a fifty-page report on the history of the thesis, outlining a number of irregularities. Lin, who traveled to London and visited the LSE Library, found the faxed thesis to be a draft version with missing pages, page numbers that do not match the table of contents, and handwritten corrections. In Taipei, Professor emeritus Ho De-fen of Taiwan National University picked up the quest for truth questioning the validity of Tsai's doctorate. Tsai responded to the challenge almost immediately on her personal Facebook account and threatened Ho with legal action. Tsai called the questions about her thesis “fake news” and said Ho was “factually incorrect.”……Tsai said in her Facebook statement, “In short, if I received my diploma, then I submitted my thesis.” Curiously, Tsai's diploma is a modern re-issue, not the original award.
大意：和同屆其他的105名學生不同，蔡英文沒有向校方圖書館提交論文，仍以某種方式獲得博士學位。她在2019年6月才透過傳真提交論文，並設下種種限閱規定。親自看過論文的台裔美籍林環牆教授發表調查報告，認為提交的只是草稿，出現了漏頁、與目錄不符、手寫更正錯誤的狀況。
—（September 6, 2019）Tsai Ing-wen, president of the Republic of China in-exile, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Ho De-fen, professor emeritus at National Taiwan University, and Hwan Lin, a professor at Belk College in North Carolina. The lawsuit is over recent remarks the two professors have made about Tsai's 1984 doctoral thesis at the London School of Economics.……Ho De-fen, upon reading Lin's report, called a news conference and questioned the validity of Tsai's doctorate.……In support of her lawsuit Tsai has released some of her student records that shed a little light on a mystery man, Michael Elliot. Now deceased, Elliot is unable to answer any questions about his role in the thesis writing. After Tsai belatedly submitted her thesis the LSE Library cataloged the entry and listed Elliot as a co-author. That catalog entry was changed a week later and dropped Elliot. In her acknowledgements section of the thesis Tsai referred to Elliot has her supervisor. However, Elloit lacked a doctorate and could not, under standard academic protocol, have been her faculty advisor unless the London School of Economics lowered the standards in Tsai's case.……Tsai does have one advantage in the case, the ROC's antiquated judicial system with its “dinosaur judges” and lack of jury trials.
大意：賀德芬教授看過林環牆的調查報告後，召開記者會，蔡英文則向兩人提出誹謗告訴。當年論文的指導者Michael Elliott並無博士學位，有違一般指導教授的學術標準。
—（September 17, 2019）Tsai Ing-wen, President of the Republic of China in-exile, has instructed her attorneys to prepare litigation against internet talk show host Dennis Peng.……Dennis Peng, who raised questions about the missing thesis before it was tardily submitted to the LSE Library by Tsai, will be a formidable opponent as defendant. Peng appears eager to go to court. With a controversial reputation, the sometimes confrontational newsman is a bulldog. Peng can be expected to follow the old sports rule that a good defense is a vigorous offense, Peng will be aggressive in challenging Tsai’s thesis story. Peng has already been looking at watermarks and measuring margins of LSE correspondence and will likely keep his daily audience updated.……Since truth is a defense in defamation lawsuits Tsai will have to prove the defendants made untrue statements. Finally, as a political figure Tsai has to overcome the defendants’ freedom of speech rights as well.……Want to look at the thesis online? No can do. Tsai has put a restrictive copyright binder on the thesis keeping it under tight wraps at the LSE Library. ……However, Tsai will have a hard time keeping her thesis out of the courtroom, interested people may still get a chance to read the thesis as a court exhibit. Tsai’s battle with Peng is sure to be entertaining and will likely have a large audience.……In the end, the biggest opponent Tsai faces in the 2020 election may be herself.
大意：蔡英文繼續針對彭文正教授提告，因為對方每日在網路節目中積極挑戰論文門的議題。事實真相的調查與言論自由的界定將是誹謗訴訟的關鍵。
—（September 26, 2019）The story started in April when a researcher announced he was unable to locate Tsai's thesis. The catalog entry at the LSE Library said the library had the thesis but that it was unavailable. Tsai remained silent and let supporters take up her defense arguing variously.……Finally, Tsai submitted what appears to be a faxed copy of a draft thesis.……The Oxford educated scholar（Hsu Yungtai）……spent two days studying the copyright-restricted thesis. Hsu issued his own report, confirming the accuracy of the Lin report, and providing more information about Tsai's thesis. Hsu choose to release his findings in a Kuomintang newspaper, World Journal published in the United States. The KMT quickly picked up the lead holding a news conference calling for an investigation of Tsai's thesis. Hsu followed up with another newspaper article asking how Tsai can enforce the copyright restriction which prevents copying or quoting from thesis if it is the property of London School of Economics.……We have also learned the thesis has three major parts, appearing to have been pieced together to make a whole. Included in Hsu's report is the finding that 90% of the thesis uses justified margins while 10% does not.……Perhaps the most intriguing discovery by Hsu is that the thesis is written in American “English” instead of the British spelling. Hsu, who got his Ph.D. at Oxford, says that British professors are very sticky on use of British spelling.……Television talk shows, from both the “green” and “blue” camps, also carried incorrect information about Richardson Reports. One popular talk show went so far as to claim I was the source of “fake news” about the thesis.
大意：畢業於牛津大學的徐永泰博士前往LSE的婦女圖書館探查，見證了嚴格的管制，並看到論文中出現了不該有的美式英文。台灣媒體資訊訊亂，甚至聲稱本人是「假新聞」的來源。
—（October 1, 2019）American humorist Mark Twain once commented, “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,” after an erroneous obituary had been published. Cornell University Law School professor John Barcelo can now say the same thing following Republic of China in-exile President Tsai Ing-wen’s declaration at a campaign rally that her academic mentor was dead.Contrary to Tsai’s claim of his demise, Barcelo remains active promoting Cornell’s international law programs, regularly lecturing, publishing, and traveling. Tsai included Barcelo in the Acknowledgment page of her 1984 London School of Economics graduate thesis. Tsai thanked Barcelo for the “feedback” he provided. However, Barcelo was busy at Cornell at the time and his resume does not list him as a visiting professor at LSE. Tsai did know Barcelo from her days at Cornell which suggests her thesis may have been an outgrowth of student work there.……Tsai has apparently not stayed in touch with Barcelo or she would know he is very much alive and not dead as she told her supporters at a campaign rally in Taiwan. ……“This professor was very famous. Since he is dead now I can talk about him. His name is Barcelo, like Barcelona of Spain. If you read my Ph.D. thesis [interrupted by laughter] at the end, you find the famous theories by Barcelo on antidumping.”……In the years since Tsai got feedback from Barcelo he has grown the Cornell Law School international law program with links to universities in Europe and has been recognized in France for his work there. Tsai lifted her copyright restriction and placed the thesis online in Taiwan in an effort to quell the controversy.
大意：蔡英文在競選集會上宣稱自己在美國康乃爾大學受教過的巴塞羅教授業已亡故而大肆談論，其實對方依然健在。目前蔡英文已公開論文電子版，而這位教授的名字就出現在致謝頁上，雖然並未指導過她的論文。
—（October 14, 2019）The Taiwanese news media is awash in politics and money and does not get bogged down with details. given the long history of ambiguity that has fogged the island. Taiwanese readers seeking truth in the propaganda blizzard that the partisan media houses dish out flocked to Richardson Reports for information about Tsai's thesis that was apparently first submitted to the LSE Library in 2019.……In a bid to blame somebody for the mess Tsai finds herself mired in over the tardy thesis, Richardson Reports has been targeted as the source of the controversy. Although it is not true and ignores the work of Cao Chang-qing, Dennis Peng, Ho De-fen, Hwan Lin, Hsu Yungtai, and others, the first comprehensive account in English came from the blog that offers news not found anywhere else.……The first big deal is that Richardson Reports is a blog. So what? Blogs are here to stay and make up a worldwide citizen journalist network. If Taiwanese reporters don't like being scooped by an American blog all they have to do is cover the story.……The London School of Economics has entered the fray issuing a news release validating Tsai's thesis and degree. However, LSE has not yet answered questions about the identity of the thesis examiners and the approval process. ……Now Richardson Reports is slammed for doggedly pursing the story ignored by others. Ironically, the smear campaign has backfired bringing in many new readers and establishing the blog as a source of news not found anywhere else.
大意：在台灣媒體報導論文門訊息不足的情況下，出現了對本人記者身分的質疑，反而吸引更多人關注。目前LSE雖然發布新聞稿替蔡英文背書，但是尚未回答口試委員和審批程序的問題。
—（October 31, 2019）Rachael Maguire, the LSE Information and Records Manager, responded to a social media request seeking the identity of Tsai's reviewers. Maguire wrote, “The School believes that this information is held in full by the University of London.”……“The viva report would be a University of London record. An award letter was sent out from the University of London Registrar on 8 February 1984, degree certificate issued on 14 March 1984.” Although LSE doesn't know or will not say who reviewed Tsai's thesis the school claims the review was conducted on October 16, 1983. Maguire says Tsai's adviser was Michael Elliot, whose degrees were a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Civil Law.……A very much alive Barcello has stated he had nothing to do with the LSE thesis and does not know why Tsai did not file it on time in 1984.……Meanwhile two leading Tsai critics, Dennis Peng and Hwan Lin, made a trip to London where they held a news conference taking the story to a new international audience as the story shifts from Taiwan to England.
大意：LSE資訊與紀錄經理說明蔡英文口試委員的相關資訊是由倫敦大學掌管，僅表示指導老師是Michael Elliot，口試則是在1983年10月16日（週日）舉行的。彭文正、林環牆已在倫敦召開記者會。
—（December 10, 2019）The University of London is conducting an internal review of its privacy exemption for Republic of China in-exile President Tsai Ing-wen's 1984 London School of Economics thesis examiners' identities. Kit Good, Data Protection and Information Compliance Manager, confirmed that an internal review is underway by the university. Good refused to name the examiners that reviewed Tsai's thesis. ……Good replied to a Freedom of Information request for the identities of Tsai's thesis reviewers by citing a privacy restriction and responded, “The University of London confirms that Ms. Ing-Wen Tsai was awarded a PhD by the University of London in 1984 and she was registered as an LSE student.” In response to my request for an internal review of the privacy restriction Good said, “The University will carry out an internal review in accordance with the guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office.”……The University of London has not announced who is conducting the internal review or when a decision on releasing the identity of the thesis reviewers will be made. If the results of the internal review uphold Good's privacy exemption the matter will then be taken up outside the university with the Information Commissioner.
大意：倫敦大學資料保護暨資訊法遵經理表示，蔡英文確實於1984年被倫敦大學授予博士學位，目前將針對口試委員身分是否屬於個人隱私而進行內部審查。
