A former lawyer for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday testified that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) had attended at party at the Playboy Mansion when he was studying in the US.
Earlier this year, radio show host Clara Chou (周玉蔻) alleged that Lien lived a lavish lifestyle during his college years at Columbia University in New York, including attending at party at the Playboy Mansion.
Lien filed a slander suit against Chou in the Taipei District Court, asking for NT$5 million (US$166,000) in compensation and a public apology.
Song Yao-ming (宋耀明) was summoned to testify in court when Chou cited him as her source of information.
Song told the court that the KMT should not have encouraged Lien to enter politics.
“Between 1993 and 1994 Lien invited me to his apartment in the Trump Tower in New York, and he told me he went to the Playboy Mansion in California,” Song said.
“A few years ago I had a conversation with a senior journalist surnamed Tsai (蔡) and I told him that Lien and I were schoolmates at Columbia University’s law school between 1993 and 1994. I lived in an international house in Upper Manhattan, which cost about US$1,000 a month. I was shocked when I learned that Lien, who had just graduated from Fu Jen Catholic University, has a father who is a government official, but he could afford an apartment in Trump Tower,” Song said.
Song said Sean Lien, one of former vice president Lien Chan’s (連戰) sons, was absent from class for days. When Song later ran into him and asked him where he had been, Sean Lien told him he had been to the Playboy Mansion in California.
The court asked whether both sides would consider settling the case out of court. Sean Lien’s lawyer said he would discuss it with his client.
Song had represented Ma when he was charged with misusing his special mayoral allowance.
Sean Lien spokesman Chien Chen-yu (錢震宇) said the younger Lien is not familiar with Song and that he never attended a party at the Playboy Mansion.
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
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,
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
RSS