Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) campaign office yesterday said it has taken legal action against media personality Clara Chou (周玉蔻), who recently alleged Hung is planning to withdraw from the election in exchange for “benefits.”
The office said a lawyer has been commissioned to take Chou to court for her “suspected dissemination of falsified rumors and defamation intended to make candidates not elected” that is in violation of the Civil Servants Election And Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
According to the office, Chou, talking on a political talk show on Wednesday, said: “Many people have alleged that [Hung has been working on] quid pro quo; I heard something worse, which was that she wanted to exchange [her withdrawal] for a legislator-at-large seat, or even a legislative speaker seat; some even said she wants money.”
Hung’s campaign team said: “The so-called ‘intended exchanges’ are not true, and Chou never asked Hung or the office for verification.”
“Rather, she spread a rumor and is suspected of causing harm to the reputation and image of [Hung] through deliberate fabrication,” it added.
It is the second time that the team has taken Chou to court, the first occasion related to Chou’s accusations in June that Hung’s diploma certificate was forged.
In related news, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday voiced its support for Hung’s decision to file a lawsuit against people who spread lewd pictures online.
“Such acts are intolerable in a civilized society, and it should not happen to anyone,” DPP spokesperson Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) said. “We support the victim in taking legal action to prevent such acts and we strongly condemn such disrespect toward women.”
Wang was responding to remarks made by Hung’s campaign office on Friday that since early June, its Facebook page has been attacked by at least 78 accounts belonging to unidentified people using false names, who have posted lewd pictures and left offensive comments.
Hung’s office also urged DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to control her supporters, saying that it would take legal action against those who committed such offenses.
Wang said that while the Internet has become an important communication tool, such abusive acts are not acceptable.
“Tsai has often fallen victim to malicious attacks on the Internet as well, thus she also would like to call on society not to believe in false and malicious rumors spread on the Internet,” Wang said, citing Tsai. “She hopes society can tackle the issue together.”
Separately yesterday, Tsai said that she welcomed remarks by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) that Beijing would not interfere with Taiwan’s elections.
“I hope Beijing realizes that Taiwan is a democratic society, and it is normal for political parties to rotate in power, with whichever party wins the hearts of the people being in power, and a ruling party with failed governance being voted out,” Tsai said.
“I hope China respects the choice of the people in a democracy, and that Taiwanese are concerned about stable and peaceful development in cross-strait relations,” she added.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
RSS