Historic suit filed against lawmakers

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday filed a libel suit against a political talk show host and two opposition legislators over their allegations that he had given US$1 million to former Panamanian president Mireya Moscoso as a "settlement fee" for his "improper dealings."

Lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄) filed the civil suit with the Taipei District Court yesterday on behalf of Chen. Instead of seeking financial compensation, Chen is demanding publication of the court's verdict and a public apology from the three defendants: People First Party (PFP) legislators Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄), Tsai Chung-han (蔡中涵) and UFO Radio chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康).

"President Chen regards his reputation as more important than any restitution that could be paid in cash," so he wants the defendants to publish the court verdict and an apology in five local Chinese-languages newspapers: the United Daily News, the China Times, the Liberty Times, the Taiwan Daily and the Apple Daily -- for three consecutive days, said Koo.

Liu and Tsai on Wednesday held a news conference, during which they charged that Chen had presented a check for US$1 million to Moscoso as a birthday gift and as a "settlement fee" for Chen's "improper dealings."

The two legislators said their allegation was based on comments made by Jaw in a recent radio show. Jaw, when pressed by the media on Wednesday for the source of his comments, said he obtained the information from a story posted on the Global Times Web site, a weekly newsletter issued by China's state-run People's Daily.

"The trio severely defamed President Chen's reputation by quoting unfounded information, which they found on a Chinese Web site," said Koo. "They did not make any effort to verify [the information], but indiscriminately spread it."

This is the first time in Taiwan's history that the president has filed a lawsuit against legislators.

Following Koo's trip to the Taipei District Court, Presidential Office Secretary-General Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) held a news conference at the Presidential Office and said that the president filed the suit to not only safeguard his own reputation, but also to protect diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Panama.

Noting Taiwan's difficult diplomatic situations, Su said he felt "chilled to the heart" that there are a few "unworthy politicians" who would side with Beijing, which is known for its animosity toward Taiwan and its incessant efforts to marginalize Taiwan's international space by undermining Taiwan's diplomatic ties with its allies.

"It also makes one feels chilled to the heart that there are political parties, politicians and media outlets so unworthy as to smear not just their own president, but also the head of state of one of our diplomatic allies," Su said, adding that the indecent allegation made by the two PFP legislators on the friendship between Chen and Moscoso is a "great humiliation to women" and that the allegation had also hurt the feelings of the people of both Taiwan and Panama.

Meanwhile, Agence France Presse reported that Moscoso on Wednesday denied that she received US$1 million as a "birthday gift" from Chen.

"I never received a check for any amount as a birthday gift from the president of the Republic of China in Taiwan, as claimed by opposition legislators in that country," Moscoso said in a statement.