Taiwan Solidarity Union Legis-lator Hsu Den-koun (
"Hsu's remarks on Soong violated Article 310 of the Criminal Code and the court decided to uphold the district court's verdict because the defendant's argument did not persuade the court that it should be overturned," the High Court verdict said.
Article 310 of the Criminal Code prohibits the public circulation of unsubstantiated allegations with the intent to injure the reputation of others.
The verdict upheld a Taipei District Court verdict sentencing Hsu to 50 days in jail or a NT$15,000 fine for defaming Soong in 2002. The High Court verdict cannot be appealed.
Hsu did not appear at court. At press time he had not issued any comment on the verdict.
Hsu was sued by Soong after the former held a press conference on March 22, 2002, alleging that Soong had visited Japan, the Philippines and the US in 1999 on behalf of China's State Council. During the press conference, however, Hsu did not explain how the State Council had "arranged" Soong's trip or why he had leveled the accusation.
Former PFP spokesman Hsieh Kung-ping (謝公稟), Soong did visit the three countries, meeting several government officials, including former heads of state.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
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