The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld the verdict of a lower court that The Journalist magazine did not libel Vice President Annette Lu (
But it ordered the publication and five of its personnel to bear the costs of publishing a correction of a report withdrawing the allegation.
In addition to the magazine itself and the editor-in-chief, Yang Chao (
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Judge Chang Tsung-chuan (
"All of the defendants attended the editorial meeting at which it was decided to publish the story so we believe that they should share the responsibility," said Tsai Kuo-tsai (
The first verdict dismissed Lu's libel charges on the grounds that newspapers were entitled to pose legitimate questions about the conduct of public officials.
But it, nevertheless, ruled that Yang must personally bear the cost of the publication of corrections on the front pages of Taiwan's 32 newspapers and broadcast on major radio and TV stations for three consecutive days, which would cost about NT$180 million.
"We believed that Lu's wish to clear her name can be done by publishing the clarification on four major Chinese-language newspapers instead of all local newspapers," Tsai said. "Plus, according to our estimate, it would take Yang about 2.5 hours to read through the 15,000-word clarification, written by Lu's lawyer, on radio or TV which could be difficult for radio and TV production. So, we dropped the radio and TV part."
Yesterday's verdict was on Yang's appeal against the costs imposed on him as a result of the civil case filed by Lu on Dec. 21, 2000, saying a story published by the magazine had injured her reputation. In addition, Lu's charges of criminal libel against the magazine and seven of its employees were dropped during the first trial.
The dispute between The Journalist and Lu erupted in November 2000 when the magazine published a story accusing Lu of spreading a rumor that Chen was having an affair with one of his female aides, Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴). The magazine said Lu spread the rumor in order to unseat Chen.
During the first trial, the magazine's executive president, Jan Hung-chi (
In response to the second verdict, the vice president said that she had been obliged to file the suit.
"I just needed to let the public know the truth. We also hoped that the media could learn a lesson from the case," Lu said. "This is belated justice."
Wang Chien-chuang held a press conference immediately and said that they would appeal again.
"We are very disappointed and will definitely appeal," he said.
According to the first verdict by Taipei Judge Lai Yung-hua (
Yang testified that Lu had called him on Nov. 13, 2000, and said that the president was having an affair. Yang said he had then told reporters Yang Shu-mei, Wu and Tao about the phone call and directed them to write about it.
In pre-trial hearings at the Taipei District Court (
However, Tseng testified that he had heard about a rumored affair, but not from Lu. Chen testified that he had never claimed to be able to confirm anything.
As for the other defendants, Lai ruled Wang Chien-chuang was not guilty because he was only in charge of administrative duties and had nothing to do with the magazine's stories.
Jan was found not guilty because his title was simply an honorary one and he was not really working for the magazine.
Wang Hsing-ching was found not guilty because his duties did not include editing the stories about Lu.
The three reporters were found not guilty because the judge ruled they were only following orders in writing stories assigned to them by Yang.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique