The Taipei District Court yesterday found former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) not guilty of libel and leaking of confidential information in the first ruling on a lawsuit filed by Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘).
The court said there was insufficient evidence to prove allegations that Ma had requested then-prosecutor-general Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) to leak information from a judicial investigation, obtained through wiretapping of a telephone conversation in September 2013.
Ker filed libel charges against the former president on Oct. 3, 2013, accusing him of contravening the Personal Information Protection Act (個人資料保護法) and the Security and Surveillance Act (通訊監察保護法).
Photo: CNA
Taipei District Court Chief Judge Liao Chien-yu (廖建瑜) said Ma was accused of asking his then-personal secretary Lin Yu-chen (林有振) to call Huang and request that he visit Ma at his presidential residence on Sept. 1, 2013 — a call that lasted one minute and 46 seconds.
WIRETAPPING
Ma allegedly asked Huang, who was in charge of the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, to submit a report — which contained details obtained through wiretapping — regarding alleged improper political lobbying in conversations between Ker and then-legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
“Witness testimonies and documentation presented by Ker were unable to prove that Ma had instructed Huang to present any information obtained through the SID’s probe and results from the wiretapping. As such, there was no indication he ordered others to leak confidential information,” Liao said.
NOT LIBEL
“Regarding Ma’s accusations that Ker conducted improper political lobbying, the court finds that Ma’s comments belong within the scope of public interest and that Ma gave his commentary with good intentions and therefore is not in breach of libel laws,” Liao added.
“We thank the Taipei District Court judges for undertaking this case and for their efforts to uncover the truth and make an appropriate ruling that conforms with the law,” Ma’s office said.
Ker said that the ruling was a “grave mistake” and that he would appeal.
“Huang, who was convicted of leaking state secrets, committed the crime at Ma’s instruction, but the court cleared Ma, a ruling that is inconsistent with Huang’s conviction,” Ker said.
Criticizing the verdict, which said that a crucial call record could not prove that Ma ordered Huang to leak state secrets, Ker said Ma’s guilt was evident, but he was acquitted because there was no audio recording of Ma giving the order.
“The judge has acquitted Ma on trivial details, but ignored the damage he has done to the constitutional mechanism. This negligent ruling cannot convince the public, and the verdict is written just like Ma’s defense,” Ker said.
DPP spokesman Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) said the ruling could not disguise that Ma intervened to try to oust a political rival, and called on the court to make a fair judgement.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on March 14 indicted Ma on charges of leaking classified information and abuse of authority in connection with the Ker-Wang conversation.
Additional reporting by Chen Wei-han
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
RSS