Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) filed an appeal with the High Court yesterday after a district court cleared the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of libel for allegedly labeling him a supporter of China.
"The judge made a wrong decision, and I decided to take the case to the High Court," Ma told a press conference yesterday. "I will ask for NT$1 million in compensation in order to pay my lawyers' fees."
In October 2003, the DPP made and broadcast a TV ad promoting a calling for a new constitution through the referendum process. The ad used montages of several people holding China's five-star flag with Ma holding a Republic of China (ROC) flag during a national day celebration. A close-up of Ma's face was shown as a veteran called out "Long life Hu Jintao (胡錦濤)."
Ma believed the DPP had libeled him as "red" and "China's man." He filed a lawsuit at the Taipei District Court, asking for NT$1 in symbolic compensation.
Judge Wu Ching-jen (
"The public would not make the mistake of thinking Ma was handling China's flag or calling out `Long life Hu Jintao,' therefore the DPP did not damage Ma's reputation in the ad," Wu said in her ruling.
She said the ad's content fell within the boundary of free speech.
A angry Ma yesterday criticized the judgment as flawed.
"The DPP viciously mixed different montages to paint me red in that ad, and broadcast it 240 times on TV, but the judge said it was legal. Where is justice?" he said.
However, he said he would withdraw his appeal if the DPP apologized.
Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), director of the DPP's Information and Culture Department, said yesterday that the aim of the was to highlight China's oppression of Taiwan, and there was no intent to defame Ma.
Cheng said the judge had made the right decision and the DPP hoped Ma could forget the past and face the future.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS