A teacher at a preschool in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋) who was cleared of allegations of giving children sedatives yesterday sued five public figures, including two members of the Legislative Yuan, for defamation.
The teacher, surnamed Ho (何), filed the criminal complaint at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, accompanied by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇).
The suit named as defendants Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), New Power Party Legislator Claire Wang (王婉諭), DPP New Taipei City Councilor Tai Wei-shan (戴瑋姍), Taiwan Children’s Rights Association director-general Angela Wang (王薇君) and Chung Yuan Christian University associate professor Chao Ming-wei (招名威).
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The suit follows a public firestorm that broke out last month after parents said that the private Banqiao preschool was sedating their children with drugs, causing them severe mood swings and symptoms of withdrawal.
An investigation by New Taipei City prosecutors that included hair follicle tests on 36 of the students found no evidence of criminal behavior, and the case was closed on July 12 without charges being filed.
Speaking outside the prosecutors’ office, Ho said that the defendants had abused their platforms as public figures to make unfounded accusations against the school’s teachers, subjecting them to bullying, being denied work and severe emotional distress.
Ho said that she had also filed a separate complaint against Claire Wang and Angela Wang for allegedly revealing the teachers’ personal information on social media, including their surnames, English names and the classes they taught.
She said that she and her fellow teachers had been used as “electoral props” throughout the highly politicized ordeal and that even after an investigation established their innocence, none of their accusers apologized.
In a statement responding to the suit, Claire Wang said that her intention in the Banqiao case was to lend a voice to the students and their parents, and to ensure that the government took the issue seriously.
She said that she took full responsibility for her actions and apologized to anyone dragged into the fierce public debate surrounding the accusations.
Lo said that his comments on the case were intended to pressure the New Taipei City Government to investigate the parents’ claims and “find the truth.”
He added that the lawsuit was being driven by people acting behind the scenes for political purposes.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as