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Prosecutors drop slander lawsuit against Shieh

Former Government Information Office minister Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said on Monday that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) should apologize to those who suffered directly or indirectly from the KMT's suppression of democracy and human rights during the Martial Law era.

Shieh made the remarks after Taipei prosecutors announced earlier in the day that they would not act on a slander complaint filed by Ma against Shieh last July when Ma was campaigning for president.

Shieh hinted during the campaign that the Harvard-educated Ma was one of the students tasked by the KMT authoritarian regime in the 1970s with monitoring the activities of Taiwanese students abroad.

Shieh thanked the judicial system for allowing justice to prevail and the prosecutors for proving him right.

Shieh said, however, that the case was not about winning or losing and that he did not “feel joy” over the prosecutors’ decision.

Shieh said Ma chose to back an authoritarian regime and become an accomplice in suppressing democracy and human rights during the Martial Law era.

As a witness to that era, he has the obligation to testify, Shieh said.

In announcing their decision, prosecutors said on Monday that Ma was a presidential candidate at the time and his behavior was open to public comments.

In addition, Shieh made the remarks based on an article in a local journal published in June 2006, the prosecutors said.

The article quoted Ma as saying that he was quite active in anti-communist patriotic activities when he was studying in the US.

It also said that Ma wrote articles to criticize remarks supporting Taiwanese independence and that he was later rewarded by the KMT for his behavior.
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