The group accused of writing the controversial Special Report series of VCDs filed a slander suit yesterday against People First Party (PFP) Legislator Chiu Yi (
Chiu had earlier said that the four -- actress Chiang Hsia (
Yu-fu said he believes an extra NT$80 million had appeared in Chiu's bank accounts since he became a lawmaker two years ago, which is why they decided to ask for this amount in compensation.
Chiu, irritated by Yu-fu's remark, filed a counter suit against Yu-fu.
The group of four held a press conference yesterday morning to clarify their relation to the Special Report VCD series and announced their plan to sue Chiu for slander.
They also issued a news release saying they had nothing to do with the VCDs.
The statement said that Special Report was merely a performance by actors and actresses and that there is no right or wrong in a production like this. Politicians and the media should not blame the actors and actresses because they were only doing their jobs, the release said.
The group encouraged the public to look for the facts of the story behind the VCDs.
"They [the politicians who were lampooned in the VCDs] used to criticize people but it seems to me that they are not mature enough to accept criticism from other people," Shieh said.
Although the four denied Chiu's accusation that they were the script writers, they said the series was a great performance and encouraged the cast to continue their work.
"This younger generation of actors, actresses and crew feared for nothing and dared to criticize," Yu-fu said. "This is how we make progress in every aspect of our lives."
Parts III and IV of the Special Report series were scheduled to be on sale yesterday but the VCDs were not available as of press time last night.
The Taiwan Media Revolution Production House, the producer of the Special Report series, issued an announcement to explain the delay.
The statement said VCD factories refused to manufacture the series because of the threat of a crackdown by the Government Information Office. As a result, the production house hired a foreign company to make parts III and IV.
The producer said the discs, however, were confiscated by the Ministry of Finance's Directorate General of Customs.
Customs officials issued a statement denying the allegation and said they have not confiscated any VCDs in the past few days.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
‘ILLEGAL RULING’: The KMT and the TPP slammed the Constitutional Court judgement, saying it contravened the law and was trying to clear the way for a ‘green dictatorship’ The Constitutional Court yesterday ruled that amendments to the Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed by the Legislative Yuan last year are unconstitutional, as they contravene due legislative process and separation of powers. The Legislative Yuan on Dec. 20 last year passed amendments stipulating that no fewer than 10 grand justices must take part in deliberations of the Constitutional Court, and at least nine grand justices must agree to declare a law unconstitutional. The Executive Yuan on Jan. 2 requested that lawmakers reconsider the bill, but the Legislative Yuan, under a combined majority of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party
RSS