Former independent lawmaker Lo Fu-chu (
The case stems from Lo's assault on Lee during a legislative committee meeting on March 28 last year. Lo was filmed on closed circuit television slapping Lee in the face.
The security tape which recorded the incident appears to show Lo's assistant Kao Ming-ta (高明達) stopping Lee's assistant from helping her. Lee subsequently filed a civil suit and criminal charges for the assault against Lo and Kao on April 9 last year. Taipei prosecutors officially indicted the pair on Oct. 8 last year.
In Taiwan, civil and criminal actions relating to the same alleged offenses are tried in joint proceedings.
The Taipei District Court yesterday held its second hearing on the suit. Lo and Kao, accompanied by their lawyer Tu Ying-ta (
The attorneys for both parties agreed to seek a private, out-of-court settlement.
The judge agreed to the plan and adjourned the case for one month to enable them to come to a settlement. If they fail to do so, the trial will resume.
Adjourning the hearing, Judge Tsai Ju-chi (
Judges in Taiwan have discretion to drop criminal charges in the event that the defendant and plaintiff to the related civil proceedings reach a private settlement.
The hearing lasted for approximately 10 minutes.
Before the hearing began, Lo told the press that he was sincere in his remorse and would do "whatever it took" to ease the pain he has caused. But Lo added that he had as yet received no response from Lee or her lawyer.
"I've said that I'm sorry more than once," Lo said. "I've been trying to reach her and let her know that I'm sorry. And I'll keep on trying until she receives my message. I think we can resolve this."
Kao and Tu had no comments.
Lee Fu-tien, however, said that neither he or Lee had ever received a call or notification from Lo of his apology. While he agreed with Lo's proposal at the hearing, he stressed that it did not mean a settlement had been reached.
"Diane wants to solve this case, too," he said. "However, we do not know how to make it happen since Lo, Kao and their lawyer have never spoken with us. We don't know what their bottom line is. And we really don't know how sincere Lo's apology is."
He said that Lee would accept Lo's apology "only under certain circumstances."
"The damage to her reputation is what she cares about the most," Lee said.
"If Lo's compromise and apology cannot fix the damage, she will not accept it."
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
SOVEREIGNTY: The rigs show that Beijing ‘rejects Taiwan’s jurisdiction’ by building in areas where Taipei demands permission to build or alter installations Chinese oil rigs have been sighted just 26 nautical miles (42km), from Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), posing a threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty if left unchallenged, a brief published by the Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday said. Pratas Island, 444km from Kaohsiung, is northeast of the South China Sea and houses a Taiwanese garrison. The brief, titled “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island” — referring to the People’s Republic of China — analyzed photographs and said that Beijing’s tools to pressure Taiwan now include oil rigs. “Oil rigs now constitute part of Beijing’s
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
RSS