The Taiwan High Court found news weekly Yazhou Zhoukan (
The decision yesterday ends a legal dispute that started in October 1996. That month, the magazine reported that Liu Tai-ying (
Liu, who denied offering or paying the money, then filed a libel suit against the magazine's general manager, senior editor and contributing reporter.
At the time, the case was seen as a first, as freedom of the press was rarely challenged via legal means.
The Taiwan High Court, affirming a district court decision in 1997, determined yesterday that the magazine had published the story in good faith. Specifically, the court said, the story had benefitted the public interest, as it said political donations were an issue that should be subject to public debate.
The court said the magazine had not had any malicious intention to defame Liu by publishing the story and it had made adequate efforts to verify the story during the process of news gathering.
The story, headlined "Taiwan engulfed in US scandal of political funds," alleged Liu had offered the donation to Middleton during the 1995 meeting in order to establish an unofficial channel of diplomacy between Taipei and Washington.
Later Chen Chao-ping (
The court said the magazine had interviewed Liu and Middleton and included their denials in the story. Regardless of what the truth was on the donation allegations, the court said, the magazine was not guilty as it had fulfilled its duty to verify facts.
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