Rick Chu (朱立熙), chief executive officer of the Taiwan-based Korean Studies Academy, yesterday accused the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of a breach of copyright after the party allegedly copied his work for a completely different end than it was intended for.
The KMT caucus on Friday presented hundreds of pages of proposed revisions to a draft bill on ill-gotten party assets with the apparent aim of obstructing the bill’s passage by having the documents all read aloud in the legislature.
Revision proposals regarding the name of the bill and one of its articles alone were 300 pages of text, with a large portion of that being explanations of why the revisions were proposed.
Photo: Yen Hung-chun, Taipei Times
Most of the text was found to be passages taken from existing work, including legal texts, Council of Grand Justices interpretations, academic articles, newspapers editorials and the KMT’s own media releases.
One of the academics whose work was reportedly quoted extensively said that the KMT had “copied and pasted” his writing.
An article by Chu on South Korea’s democratic transition was cited almost in its entirety in the revision proposal, Chu said, adding that the KMT had written a conclusion that distorted the ideas of his article.
Chu, a former Taipei Times editor-in-chief who is also a lecturer at Chengchi University’s Department of Korean Language and Culture, said he is supportive of the Democratic Progressive Party’s efforts to deal with ill-gotten party assets and is extremely disappointed with the KMT’s continued obstruction tactics.
He likened the KMT to those implicated in heists targeting automated teller machines in Taipei last week.
What is most despicable is that the party reached a conclusion in its proposal that is completely opposite to the viewpoint in the article, Chu said.
Chu said he felt “raped by the KMT” and would sue the KMT for copyright infringement.
While he said he does not mind his articles being shared, even without attribution, it is unbearable and unforgivable when it is used to support an opposite conclusion, he said.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Te-fu (林德福) said attribution was included for Chu’s article.
Lin said that because of new developments, Chu’s words might be dropped in the party’s final version.
Additional reporting by Tseng Wei-che
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,