Hsinchu County Magistrate Lin Kuang-hua (
The court sentenced the magistrate to six months imprisonment and deprived him of his civil rights for one year. The court, however, has ordered the sentence suspended for five years.
Lin, running on a DPP ticket, and Cheng Yung-chin (
During the election, Lin published defamatory statements against Cheng, accusing him of having acquired illicit interest from sales of real estate, the court found.
In his campaign flyers, Lin accused Cheng, former Hsinchu county council speaker, of having accumulated his fortune by engaging in speculative real estate sales in the county.
The court said Lin, without any proof, had maliciously published the defamatory statements in order to influence voters.
The court also found Lin had defamed Cheng in his campaign posters, which referred to the KMT candidate as a "speculator ... dishonest" and "shameless."
The court found Lin intended to use the statements to lower Cheng's reputation and sway voters' opinion.
Lin, who was convicted of defamation in October 1998 for the same defamatory statements against Cheng, said yesterday he was dissatisfied with the high court decision and will likely file an appeal soon.
The court said it decided to sentence Lin to six-months imprisonment, because the magistrate's acts violated the law and stained the image of the democratic system.
However, the court ordered the sentence to be suspended for five years, during which time Lin will not actually be imprisoned unless he commits another offense.
"It is contemptible the defendant used illicit campaign tactics. Nevertheless, he committed the offense with the intention of winning the election so that he could contribute to society and serve the public.
"Following the conviction, he should learn a lesson and not repeat his offense," the court said.
Lin was first found guilty of the charges in January last year and received a six month prison sentence.
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military