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Pan-blues file suit against Chen, Lee over coup remarks

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) followed the lead of the People First Party (PFP) yesterday in bringing a slander suit against President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) for branding their protests last month as "an attempted coup d'etat."

Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), executive director of the KMT's Policy Coordination Committee, told a news conference yesterday that the lawsuit will be brought in the name of KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and six other party officials.

Tseng said his party had asked intelligence and law enforcement officials to clarify on Tuesday that they had no information on any alleged coup attempt and did not alert Chen that the KMT and PFP were trying to engineer a coup when the two parties called in supporters to protest what they claim was unfairness in the March 20 election and demanded a vote recount.

Noting that all the sometimes violent protests between March 20 and March 27 were legally organized, Tseng claimed that Chen was deliberately defaming the opposition parties by cooking up the accusation that they were trying to overthrow the government with a military coup.

A lawyer for the party went to the Taipei District Court Prosecutor's Office to file the complaint against Chen and Lee.

The KMT's action was taken two days after the PFP filed a similar complaint. The PFP is seeking NT$60 million (US$1.81 million) in damages.

Chen, as head of state, is sheltered from any criminal suit but can be held liable for damages.
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