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Illegal VCD-makers may be jailed

A top law enforcement official said yesterday that makers of "defamatory" VCDs to attack candidates in the Dec. 3 local government elections would be prosecuted, while Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) was alerted he was a VCD-maker's next target.

State Public Prosecutor General Wu Ying-chao (吳英昭) told the legislature that "producing such VCDs during the campaign would violate the Election and Recall Law (選舉罷免法)," and could lead to a maximum five-year prison sentence.

Wu's statement came after Taoyuan police arrested Lin Yi-fang (林一方), Peng Jin-wen (彭金萬) and three of their aides on Friday, on suspicion of producing a VCD to defame Taoyuan County commissioner Chu Li-lun (朱立倫), a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) who is standing for re-election next month.

But Lin defended his work, telling local newspapers that he is not making VCDs to defame candidates in the upcoming elections, but rather making a series of TV programs to expose officials who are involved in scandals. He added that Chu, Hu and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) would be discussed in the VCDs.

Lin is a producer of the "Special Report" series of VCDs, which were first released in the runup to last year's presidential elections to blacken the name of People first Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and other pan-blue lawmakers. Wu said that prosecutors would make an effort to prevent the production and distribution of such VCDs.

After learning there were some people making such "defamatory" VCDs, Taoyuan police on Friday night raided a company studio at Zhongxiao E Rd in Taipei, seizing the VCD. The five suspects were released after police took statements.

Police said that because the VCD has not been released, the suspects had not violated the Law of Offenses Against Personal Reputation and Credits (妨害名譽罪) or the Election and Recall Law, so they would let Taoyuan prosecutors decide whether to charge them.

Taoyuan police said that in the 45-minute VCD, four actors are seen chatting about Chu and his family. They insinuate that Chu had an affair with his former secretary, and that Chu's father-in-law Kao Yu-jen (高育仁), a former KMT speaker of the Taiwan Provincial Assembly, has meddled in the county government's affairs.
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