Amid calls from politicians and the public for stricter regulations governing acceptable behavior on social media Web sites, Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday expressed concern that such measures would harm Taiwan’s hard-earned right to freedom of speech.
Following the suicide of entertainer Cindy Yang (楊又穎), which her family attributes to vituperative online criticism, a number of politicians, media outlets and academics have called for laws to be amended to allow for stricter penalties for “online bullying,” — aimed at preventing a similar tragedy from occurring.
However, Tsai, the DPP’s presidential candidate, said she was opposed to such moves.
Photo: Hua Meng-ching, Taipei Times
“Malicious criticism, twisting facts and spreading rumors on the Internet are definitely very bad things, but if the problem was addressed by legislation, we worry what harm such legislation might do to freedom of speech,” Tsai said in response to media queries while on a visit to Hualien County. “In a democracy, people cherish freedom of speech, especially for a society like Taiwan, which has been through the Martial Law era, and we expect to have freedom of speech.”
She said that as well as encouraging self-restraint, Web site administers should take responsibility for preventing such language on the Internet.
“In a democracy, everyone is responsible for solving such issues, and it is not something that can be dealt with through legislation,” she said.
There is existing legislation that can be applied to online bullying, and she would encourage all victims to take legal action against those who make malicious statements online, she said.
Tsai has been on a tour of Hualien since Friday, visiting opinion leaders, businesspeople and young people, aiming to listen to their views on Taiwan’s future.
Tsai said she would assist local communities to develop their own specialty industries, so that young people from Hualien County and Taitung County could return home to work after gaining university degrees elsewhere.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS