Prosecutors indicted Next magazine executive editor Pei Wei (裴偉) on Friday night on a charge of libel.
"Pei told us that he is the head of the magazine and has the authority to decide which stories will be published. He said he would take legal responsibility for the publication as the four stories did not contain bylines," Taipei Prosecutor Chang Chi-chuan (張志全) said.
Chang did not recommend a sentence for Pei, as is customary, leaving any decision on sentencing to the court.
Five plaintiffs have sued Pei over five different stories in the magazine. One of the suits was dropped, however, as Pei's arguments to defend himself were accepted.
According to Chang's indictment, the magazine, in its edition of Aug. 28 last year, published a story that said that Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-chin (
In its Sept. 10 edition, Next said the Chinatrust Whales (
In its edition of Dec. 18 last year, a story said that DPP Chiayi County Commissioner Chen Ming-wen (
Next also said in its edition of Dec. 25 last year that Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp chairman Winston Wang (王文洋) lost a lot of money on his investments in China and had to return to Taiwan to seek monetary support from his father, Formosa Plastics chairman Wang Yung-ching (王永慶).
In its edition of Jan. 22, the magazine reported that Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲), then the minister of the interior, took advantage of his position to help Ching-yu Development Co with a construction project. The story alleged that Yu accepted kickbacks from the company.
Each incident sparked a lawsuit against the magazine but Chang Chi-chuan accepted Pei's defense in the case involving Yu.
Although Pei insisted that the magazine's reporters had investigated the stories, he failed to provide evidence to support his statements, Chang Chi-chuan said.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS