Freedom of speech used to be restricted. Through democratization, however, freedom of speech progressed by leaps and bounds. Now many people apparently believe there is too much freedom and that politicians and the media have become the biggest sources of chaos in society. Yesterday, the Taiwan High Court -- through its verdict on former first lady Tseng Wen-hui's (
After the 2000 presidential election, Fung, along with former New Party convener Hsieh Chi-ta (
That verdict, however, since it was basically a mediation effort, failed to discover the truth about the case or clear anyone's name. A verdict that does not deliver justice or fairness can hardly be acceptable to the parties involved. Both sides appealed.
The appeal judge also referred to Interpretation No. 509 in his verdict. However, the appeal judge pointed out that the interpretation only lightens and does not waive the burden of proof on the defendant, and that the defendants must still provide adequate evidence to prove that they had good reason to believe in their claims.
The trial judge had believed that even though Fung and his cohorts were unable to prove the veracity of their assertions, they nevertheless had had good reason to believe the truth of them at the time.
Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of democracy. The trial judge tried to maximize the guarantee of freedom of speech. There is nothing wrong with that. But sometimes freedom without checks and balances is an obstacle to a society's development. The problem that politicians and the media are abusing freedom of speech to infringe on privacy, harm reputations and leak state secrets.
As a member of the media, we certainly support freedom of speech, but we believe the High Court was right in putting restraints on speech for the public interest. Freedoms come with responsibilities. The media and politicians should bear more responsibility for checking their facts before they utilize their freedom of speech. They should restrain from making statements without reasonable evidence to support their claims.
The scope of freedom of speech should not be defined by others. Personal conscience and journalistic ethics should serve as the first and foremost red line. Only when freedom of speech conflicts with other people's interests should arbitration be sought. The High Court's verdict has drawn the bottom line for freedom of speech, but Fung and his friends have not awakened to the reality yet.
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