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Ma to sue over commercial

Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said he would file a lawsuit against the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for libel over a TV commercial in which he was juxtaposed with pro-Beijing activists.

During an interpellation session at the Taipei City Council, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) mayor said he would sue the DPP for libel over the commercial, which pictured him standing at a flag-raising ceremony on Double Ten Day while a pro-China activist chanted "Long live Hu Jintao (胡錦濤)."

Hu is the president of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Ma said he would file the suit as a private citizen. As to the precise target of the lawsuit, and whether the DPP's Chairman, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), would be targeted, Ma said he would consult with his attorneys before speaking further.

The advertisement, which encouraged viewers around the country to join a pro-referendum rally held in Kaohsiung on Oct. 25, started with the slogan "Support referendums, accelerate Taiwan's new constitution," followed by footage of a PRC flag fluttering in a motorcade during an anti-independence parade that took place in Taipei on Sept. 7.

This was followed by footage of a flag-raising ceremony which Ma attended on Oct. 10 at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.

At that moment, a veteran soldier cries out: "Long live Hu Jintao!"

The visuals then fade out, accompanied by the words: "There is no need to fawn over China likethis, even if you dislike Taiwan."

The Taipei City Government had issued an ultimatum, which expired yesterday, demanding the DPP publish an apology in major newspapers within three days.

The DPP refused to comply with the demand and insisted the commercial did not intend to target Ma.

Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), deputy director of the DPP's Information and Culture Department, yesterday said that everything in the commercial was made from news footage covering the events, and that the DPP did not distort or supplement the footage with other material.

Nor, said Cheng, were any defamatory remarks made about Ma.

"If the Taipei City Government deemed that the footage would hurt Ma's reputation, then why didn't it protest about it at the time? Why have they waited until the DPP used this footage before accusing us of defaming Ma?" Cheng asked.

The DPP will issue a formal reply to the city government explaining their position, but would definitely not issue an apology, Cheng said.
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