The Taipei District Court yesterday cleared two former New Party lawmakers of defamation charges, saying comments by the pair that former first lady Tseng Wen-hui (
The court ruled that Elmer Feng (
Shortly after the 2000 presidential election, Feng and Hsieh said Tseng had attempted to flee to New York with US$85 million in cash stuffed into 54 suitcases, but was turned back by customs officials. Their comments were broadcast on TV.
But the judge in yesterday's ruling said the remarks didn't constitute a "malicious accusation."
The ruling said the lawmakers were casting "suspicion" on Tseng -- a right protected by legislative immunity under the Constitution, he said -- but the remarks were not a "malicious accusation."
The judge said Hsieh and Feng as lawmakers had the right to call into question anything they felt was a danger to national security or damaging to the country -- regardless of whether they possessed any evidence to support their claims.
As for Tai, the judge said there wasn't enough evidence to suggest he made the claim that Tseng fled to the US after the presidential contest. Unlike Hsieh and Feng, Tai's alleged remarks weren't reported by the media.
In throwing out the slander charges, the judge also dropped Tseng's NT$300 million claim for damages.
The judge also threw out the trio's counterclaims that Tseng had defamed them by filing the slander charges. In a ruling that appears to turn logic on its head, the judge said the counterclaims had to be dropped because there was no slander in the case.
Tseng has 10 days to appeal the ruling to the Taiwan High Court. The defendants can also appeal to have their counterclaims reconsidered.
The ruling shocked the Tseng camp, who thought they had a convincing case against Feng, Hsieh and Tai.
Tseng had testified that she was at home watching TV on March 19, 2000 -- not flying to New York. On March 21, Tseng and her family visited her son's grave on the 20th anniversary of his death.
On March 23 Tseng made her first public post-election appearance, when she was seen playing golf to counter the accusations she had left the country.
"Tseng said that she was pretty surprised when she heard the news," said Liu Tsung-hsin (劉宗欣), Tseng's lawyer.
"Since they were never able to provide any evidence to back themselves up ... how could they be not guilty of slander?"
Liu said an appeal was in the works.
TSU lawmakers also took issue with the ruling, in particular the comments from the judge that the participants in the dispute should set aside their differences for the sake of "ethnic harmony."
According to a statement released by the Taipei District Court, the judge said the "plaintiff should take into consideration national security and ethnic harmony" in deciding whether to file an appeal.
The lawmakers said only the merits of the case should be considered. "Judges should reach a verdict based solely on the law and the evidence. It's preposterous to reach a verdict with the an aim of preserving ethnic harmony," the lawmakers said.
TSU lawmaker Lo Chih-ming (
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
CCP ‘PAWN’? Beijing could use the KMT chairwoman’s visit to signal to the world that many people in Taiwan support the ‘one China’ principle, an academic said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday arrived in China for a “peace” mission and potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), while a Taiwanese minister detailed the number of Chinese warships currently deployed around the nation. Cheng is visiting at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, as the opposition-dominated Legislative Yuan stalls a government plan for US$40 billion in extra defense spending. Speaking to reporters before going to the airport, Cheng said she was going on a “historic journey for peace,” but added that some people felt uneasy about her trip. “If you truly love Taiwan,
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
RSS