A group of people sued by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) yesterday called the lawsuit an “intimidation attempt” that is harmful to “citizens’ freedom of speech, which is guaranteed by the Constitution.”
Lu filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against a professor and four students that he believes lead a “passing-by” event outside his Hsinchu office on April 23, which left a paper replica of a tortoise shell with his name on it that he took to mean he was being labeled a “head-retracting turtle.”
The protesters had complained that he was toeing the KMT’s party line instead of following the will of the people.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The lawmaker accused the five — Taiwan Association of University Professors president Lu Chung-chin (呂忠津), National Tsing Hua University’s Radical Paper members Dennis Wei (魏揚) and Wang Yu-deng (王昱登), and National Hsinchu University of Education’s Youth Awakening Front members Wang Yu-chun (王昱鈞) and Hsu Jung-kai (許榮凱) — of libel and deliberate humiliation.
The five held a press conference in Taipei yesterday, accompanied by lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and author Neil Peng (馮光遠), to criticize Lu Hsueh-chang’s action and clarify their appeals.
“We as citizens are asking for Lu’s opinions on recent controversies that have drawn society’s attention, such as the future of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and an oversight bill on cross-strait agreements,” Lu Chung-chin said. “We are demanding Lu [Hsueh-chang], a representative of the people, to respect the public will.”
Photo: Wang Chun-chien, Taipei Times
Wang Yu-deng said the lawmaker was not at the office at the time of the protest.
“It was his office director who came out and immediately went back in after saying a few words,” Wang said.
Wei, who is also a member of the Black Island National Youth Front that played a crucial role in the Sunflower Movement, said the lawsuit highlighted the protesters’ complaints.
“If the lawmaker decided to sue us for likening him to a head-retracting turtle, he is not only substantiating the claim, but also acting like a member of the strawberry generation,” Wei said.
“Strawberry generation” is a term used to refer to young people whom the older generation feel are not able to handle adverse circumstances and are easily bruised, like strawberries.
“A legislator who cannot handle criticism from the public and turns to lawsuits when he is upset does not have broad enough shoulders for politics,” Wei said. “Calling him a head-retracting turtle is not a false accusation since he has been hiding under the party’s umbrella during all the disputes.”
Koo said “banter” is within the bounds of free speech voiced toward public figures or public affairs.
“If a paper tortoise shell can become the target of a libel case, I would suggest all those KMT legislators who have been singled out by the recall project launched by the protesters bring all of them [the protesters] to court in one fell swoop to straighten the matter out once and for all,” he said.
“Otherwise it will be too much hard work for us lawyers,” Koo said jokingly.
When asked by reporters about Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou’s (郭台銘) alleged comment that “passing-by protests” are no longer needed, Peng said the burden of justification is on the person who first came up with the idea.
“We all know who that is,” he said.
Peng also had a question for Guo.
“Guo ardently supported Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), a world-certified bumbler, in the 2012 presidential election. Should not he be held accountable for his choice?” he said.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
RSS