Lawsuits fly in dispute over VCD series

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 (邱毅), asking for NT$80 million in compensation.

Chiu had earlier said that the four -- actress Chiang Hsia (江霞), cartoonist Yu-fu (魚夫), writer Wu Jin-fa (吳錦發) and Soochow University political professor Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) -- were the writers of the VCD series, which lampoons senior figures in the pan-blue camp.

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.