Chen Yue-ching (陳月卿), wife of National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起), yesterday filed a defamation lawsuit against a local weekly magazine for reporting that she gained NT$6.6 billion (US$200 million) from Chinese officials who purchased 200,000 food processors that she is promoting.
Chen rang the bell in front of the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office to announce that she was pressing charges against the Chinese-language China Times Weekly, which reported that during her trip to Beijing in April, she helped to promote a food processor unit for which her brother has the exclusive distribution rights.
She said the magazine’s report of lucrative sales of up to NT$6.6 billion to Chinese officials as part of a program to introduce home appliances to rural Chinese areas was “completely untrue.”
“I don’t know why [the magazine] is using false reports to damage our reputation,” she said.
Chen, who has worked in media for 28 years, criticized the magazine for seriously violating journalistic integrity by fabricating such stories.
She is demanding compensation of NT$10 million for damage to her reputation.
Chen’s visit to Beijing to promote a book she has written caused an uproar at the time, drawing criticism from lawmakers who said it was inappropriate for Su to hold the office of secretary-general of the National Security Council while his wife traveled to China for commercial purposes.
Earlier this month, another one of Su’s relatives stirred up controversy when news broke that Su’s younger brother, National Chengchi University law professor Su Yeong-chin (蘇永欽), currently serves as a visiting professor at Zhejiang University in China.
The opposition at the time criticized the government for not restricting family members of high-ranking officials from visiting or working in China.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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