Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) has filed a lawsuit against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅), claiming that comments he made had damaged her reputation.
While Chen, the frontrunner in the Greater Kaohsiung mayoral election scheduled for November, would not publicly comment on the case, her campaign office said on Saturday that they were accusing the KMT lawmaker of slander.
PHOTO: CNA
“Faced with the false allegations [by Chiu], we have already asked our lawyers to bring charges against him,” said Ting Yun-kong (丁允恭), a deputy director of the campaign office.
“Since Chiu has a complete lack of credibility, I’m sure that Kaohsiung area residents will clearly see [past his remarks],” he said.
TIES
On June 3, the KMT lawmaker, known for his high-profile attacks on Democratic Progressive Party politicians, said that Chen’s campaign was essentially a “corruption group” and questioned her ties to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
He also questioned Chen Chu’s involvement with two former Kaohsiung City officials who he alleged had embezzled public funds during the construction of the city’s MRT system and World Games stadium.
He repeated his allegations on Saturday, saying: “Last [week] I called Chen Chu’s campaign a corruption group. Now [her] campaign office is frightened to death and wants to sue me.”
In addition, he said the Kaohsiung mayor would suffer the same downfall as Chen Shui-bian, who is being held in at Tucheng Detention Center after he was found guilty of corruption, and he called for Chen Chu to step down.
STUMPING
Chiu was stumping for the KMT candidate for Greater Kaohsiung, Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順), on the two occasions he made the allegations.
One of the former city officials named by Chiu, Hung Chih-kun (洪智坤), now director of the mayor’s campaign office, said he also intended to file a lawsuit against Chiu.
Hung said that if Chiu could not provide evidence to support his allegations, the KMT lawmaker should resign from his post.
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