Magazine says witnesses are famous

The three secret witnesses The Journalist magazine (新新聞周報) wants to call in its defense of a libel suit filed by Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) are "famous names" whose testimonies could have a disastrous impact on the country's political stability, the magazine's officials claimed yesterday.

"Whether Vice President Annette Lu has spread rumors against the president is a matter that could have an extraordinary impact on the country," said Wang Chien-chuang (王建壯), president of The Journalist, at a hearing at the Taipei District Court yesterday.

"And if the testimonies of our news sources are exposed, not only will the witnesses and their families face serious consequences, but most importantly, the country will be struck with an unprecedented disaster," Wang said.

Lu is suing the magazine over a story last year that claimed the vice president was spreading rumors of an extra-marital affair involving President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in a bid to upset the presidency.

The magazine has asked that it be allowed to call secret witnesses, who would be examined by the trial's judge but would be off limits to questions by lawyers for Lu or The Journalist.

"Of course our news sources have names, and as a matter of fact they are all famous names in this country," Wang said, when the attorneys for the vice president challenged the credibility of the magazine's "mysterious" news sources.

The attendance of the magazine's seven defendants was required at yesterday's hearing. The trial judge questioned the seven individually about their job descriptions and contributions to the disputed story.

The hearing began at 10am and Judge Lai Yung-hua (賴泱樺) continued proceedings until 9pm in an ultimately vain attempt to have all the defendants questioned in a single day. It was not until the evening that Yang Chao (楊照), editor in chief of the magazine, and Yang Shu-mei (楊舒媚), author of the contentious story, appeared in court.

In the end, three of the defendants remained unquestioned and the trial was adjourned until May 7, when their questioning will take place.

The political weekly requested at the last hearing that its three news sources be examined privately by the judge.

The magazine also requested that the content of the testimonies not be revealed to the vice president's lawyers, although Lu's lawyers argue that doing so would violate the constitutional guarantee of the right to a fair trial.

Charles Chiu (邱雅文), one of six lawyers for Lu, challenged the concept of "secret witnesses," comparing it to the anonymous witnesses used in medieval religious trials.

"I presume we are not in a religious trial, where secret witnesses appear in black cloaks and masks to present their testimonies before the judge announces that the defendant has been `proven' to be a heretic," Chiu said.

When The Journalist made the request at the last hearing, Judge Lai asked the magazine to divulge the names, addresses and significance to the story of the three sources.

He is expected to make a decision on Thursday whether to grant the magazine's request.

The judge made it clear to both sides yesterday that the magazine will not be held liable for libel if it can prove it had a reason to believe that its report was true.