The Taipei District Court has sentenced two well-known talk show hosts, Clara Chou (周玉蔻) and Tsai Yu-chen (蔡玉真), to 18 months in prison for aggravated slander and the unlawful use of personal data.
Chou and Tsai were found guilty of contravening Article 310 of the Criminal Code and Article 41 of the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) for "spreading false information" on political commentary shows and social media, the court said in its ruling on Tuesday.
According to the court, Chou has consistently denied any criminal wrongdoing, while Tsai admitted guilt, but did not demonstrate "genuine remorse."
Chou falsely accused Chang Shu-chuang (張淑娟), the winner of the Miss Republic of China beauty contest in 1988, of having a romantic relationship with John Chiang (蔣孝嚴) — one of the sons of former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and the father of current Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安).
While Taiwan possesses strong anti-slander laws and litigation over alleged slander often results in compensation rulings, it is unusual for media figures to be imprisoned for statements made on television, radio or Internet talk shows.
According to Chang, Chou made the false statements and referred to Chang by name on her show broadcast on Sept. 22, 2022, and continued to make the false claims even after Chang issued a denial the following day.
"This was a collective bullying incident involving the media figures, senior journalists, lawmakers and pundits," Chang told reporters at a news conference held at the Legislature as she stood next to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇).
"My personal experience in the past two years has been a very painful experience," the former beauty contest winner said, adding that Chou and Tsai should "sincerely repent in prison, rather than apologizing today then continuing to bully the next person tomorrow."
Chou, 71, has been a well-known outspoken political commentator since the 1990s.
Tsai, in her late 50s, is less well-known but has appeared on political talk shows as a host and guest.
Under Taiwanese law, the offense of slander can result in a prison sentence of up to one year, while "impairing another person’s interests" by using their personal data can result in a sentence of up to five years.
As of 3pm yesterday, Chou had not issued a statement in relation to the court’s judgement.
Tsai told CNA she would appeal.
‘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
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
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