Eric Chu (朱立倫), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate for Sinbei City mayor, has won a libel action against the creators of a video accusing the former Taoyuan County commissioner of having an extra-marital affair.
In a recording released in November 2005, producer Lin Yi-fang (林一方) accused Chu of having numerous extra-marital relationships, including one with a network news anchor, as well as suggesting that he had had an affair with his former secretary.
Lin, who was previously one of the creators of the controversial Special Report VCD series, had said he wanted to expose government officials that he believed were involved in scandals. He has denied that anyone was defamed by the film.
Photo: CNA
The ruling by the Taiwan High Court, which can still be appealed to the Supreme Court, brings with it substantial libel damages of NT$3 million (US$97,400) — which Chu said he would donate to charity.
Expressing his satisfaction with the latest ruling, Chu said he believed all along that elections were supposed to be fought on “election policies, hard work and dedication instead of low-class attacks.”
However, with just 10 days remaining before the special municipality elections, he was also quick to connect Lin with his opponent in the election, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), claiming that she had previously endorsed Lin’s video.
“Five years ago, when Tsai acted as an honorary chairperson for a DPP candidate’s campaign, she went as far as to speak in support of the [video],” Chu said at a campaign event.
“Now that Tsai herself is also a candidate, she is still using some of her staffers to launch all sorts of attacks [against me],” he said, claiming that some of his supporters recently received packages containing false allegations against him.
One of his spokesmen said the campaign team would “definitely sue” the person found to be sending the packages.
However, two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said at a press conference yesterday that what the KMT described as “suspicious packages” were actually clearly signed and labeled.
The contents are also factual, they said.
“Chu should have a bit of common sense,” DPP Legislator Kuo Jung-tsung (郭榮宗) said. “The documents were clearly signed by myself, DPP Legislator Huang Jen-shu (黃仁杼) and Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦), [one of Tsai’s campaign officials].”
The information reportedly contains claims that Chu cut subsidies for the elderly and withheld agricultural subsidies. Both figures are publicly accessible, Kuo said.
Tsai denied the allegation that she had once spoken in support of Lin’s video, saying Chu seemed to have gotten his facts confused.
“His remarks are absolute nonsense — I’m afraid that Chu needs to calm down,” she said. “I believe that his recent comments are stepping a bit over the line.”
TENSIONS: The Chinese aircraft and vessels were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a joint air and sea military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense said A relatively large number of Chinese military aircraft and vessels were detected in Taiwan’s vicinity yesterday morning, apparently en route to a Chinese military exercise in the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. In a statement, the ministry said 36 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including J-16 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or an extension of it, and were detected in the southern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from 5:20am to 9:30am yesterday. They were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
CASES SLOWING: Although weekly COVID-19 cases are rising, the growth rate has been falling, from 90 percent to 30 percent, 14 percent and 6 percent, the CDC said COVID-19 hospitalizations last week rose 6 percent to 987, while deaths soared 55 percent to 99, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the recent wave of infections would likely peak this week. People aged 65 or older accounted for 79 percent of the hospitalizations and 90 percent of the deaths, the majority of whom have or had underlying health conditions, CDC data showed. The youngest hospitalized case last week was a six-month-old, who was born preterm and was unvaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. The infant had a fever, coughing and a runny nose early this month, but