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.
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
RSS