Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) campaign office yesterday said that it would boycott all talk shows by SETN (三立新聞) and press charges against the news network for alleging that Han on Sunday held an infant without her parents’ consent.
SETN yesterday reported that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate angered a mother by hugging and kissing her child without her consent during the awards ceremony of a baby crawl race in New Taipei City.
Han’s campaign office spokeswoman Anne Wang (王淺秋) said that the mother handed the baby over to Han, and that both parents were not against the mayor carrying their child on stage.
Photo: CNA
Rumors about Han holding the infant without her parents’ consent originated from a Facebook post by a person who claimed to be a friend of the mother, Wang told a news conference at KMT headquarters.
It was then shared by two Facebook fan pages — “No KMT is Good” (打馬悍將粉絲團) and “Just Against the Blue” (只是堵藍) — before SETN picked up the story, she said.
Given the news network’s “apparent bias,” starting today, the campaign office’s spokespeople would no longer attend any talk shows produced by SETN, she said.
“All their news reports and programs are just pretending to be unbiased,” she said.
“They have lost their credibility,” she added.
The office today is to file criminal charges against all responsible persons in the Facebook groups and SETN for spreading false reports about the mayor, Han’s spokesman Cheng Chao-hsin (鄭照新) said.
Before the news conference, the infant’s father, surnamed Wang (王), told reporters that since the mayor was presenting an award to his daughter, it would have been strange to refuse Han.
He is not a fan of the mayor, but “it is not like Han was a homeless man or a bad guy,” he said.
Certain media and netizens have overinterpreted the incident, he said, adding that he did not like seeing a simple baby race turned into a campaign against the mayor.
However, he plans to press charges against physician Chiang Kuan-yu (姜冠宇) for posting a composite picture showing Han hugging his daughter and an infant with herpes rashes, Wang said.
Chiang did not ask for his permission to use the picture of his daughter and his post has led to many verbal attacks, Wang said.
In response, Chiang said that the father might have overreacted and both pictures had been published by media.
The post was made for the sole purpose of educating the public about risks of infections for infants when they make contact with people outside their home, he said, adding that the post included links to related articles.
Since Sunday evening, he has been harassed by numerous telephone calls from unidentified numbers, he said.
If necessary, he would talk to a lawyer and consider taking legal action, he added.
Additional reporting by Chen Hsin-yu and Lin Hui-chin
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
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
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
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
RSS