Taiwan's top court has ended a years-long legal fight over whether former president Tsai Ing-wen ever wrote her doctoral thesis, a final win for Tsai and a defeat for media figure Peng Wen-cheng.

• The Supreme Court threw out Peng's appeal, closing the case for good.
• Peng had asked the courts to declare that Tsai's thesis does not exist.
• Every level of court rejected him, saying he had no legal standing to demand such a ruling.
• A lower court found Tsai does hold the doctorate, so a thesis must have been written and submitted.
• Peng also faces defamation charges over claims Tsai faked her credentials, and has been listed as a fugitive since 2021 after failing to appear in court while in the United States.

Outlook: With the civil case settled, attention shifts to the unresolved criminal defamation case, which stays stalled while Peng remains abroad.