TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Lin Cho-shui (林濁水), a former legislator and a prominent figure of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Wednesday (July 27) called upon President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to take action or face a rout at the yearend local elections.

In a Facebook post, Lin blamed the ruling party for being too passive in its attitude toward the plagiarism controversy surrounding Lin Chih-chien (林智堅), former mayor of Hsinchu City and DPP candidate for mayor of Taoyuan.

Lin Chih-chien is ensnared in plagiarism allegations concerning his master’s degree thesis when studying at National Taiwan University’s (NTU) Graduate Institute of National Development (GIND). Reports of a substandard renovation of the Hsinchu Baseball Field, which has led to injuries to players and residents, have dealt another blow to the already embattled politician.

The DPP heavyweight believes the party needs a more proactive approach to tackling the matter, which he said is already set to hurt its showing in the elections. Waiting for the NTU to address the issue will definitely bring about “a resounding defeat” for the DPP, he said.

Urging DPP Chairperson Tsai and the mayoral candidate to “take decisive moves,” he said “you can no longer expect to weather the storm simply with a strong will.”

A committee of the university is scheduled to discuss the matter on Wednesday. Lin and his then instructor, Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) who now serves as the director of the National Security Bureau, are reportedly not attending the meeting, per UP Media.