The Taipei District Court ruled in favor of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday in a slander suit against him.
The case was filed in late 2005 after Chen, speaking on a TV talk show, accused five retired Navy officers — without naming them — of accepting kickbacks to produce false performance data on Lafayette frigates to persuade the Navy to purchase frigates from France rather than South Korea in 1990. Chen also said the officers had helped inflate the price of the vessels.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator William Lai (賴清德) and then-legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) repeated the accusations at a separate press conference.
Vice Admiral Lei Hsueh-ming (雷學明), Rear Admiral Wang Chin-sheng (王琴生), Captain Kang Shih-chun (康世淳), Captain Chang Jui-fan (張瑞帆) and Commander Cheng Chih-po (程志波) then filed the slander suit against Chen, Hsu and Lai, seeking NT$2.01 billion (US$67 million) in compensation.
The court ruled that the statements by Chen, Lai and Hsu did not constitute slander because they harbored no ill will and the remarks were not offensive, Taipei District Court spokesman Huang Jiunn-ming (黃俊明) said.
The defendants said they had never named the officers and had only “speculated” that “five retired Navy officers” had accepted bribes.
Hsu and Lai also said they should enjoy immunity from the suit as lawmakers.
Lei said that former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) decided to buy the Lafayette frigates and that he himself had no role in the purchase.
As the three defendants never backed their remarks with evidence, the statements constituted slander, Lei said.
He said that he and the other plaintiffs would appeal.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS