Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu’s (洪秀柱) campaign office yesterday said it has taken legal action against media personality Clara Chou (周玉蔻), who recently alleged Hung is planning to withdraw from the election in exchange for “benefits.”
The office said a lawyer has been commissioned to take Chou to court for her “suspected dissemination of falsified rumors and defamation intended to make candidates not elected” that is in violation of the Civil Servants Election And Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
According to the office, Chou, talking on a political talk show on Wednesday, said: “Many people have alleged that [Hung has been working on] quid pro quo; I heard something worse, which was that she wanted to exchange [her withdrawal] for a legislator-at-large seat, or even a legislative speaker seat; some even said she wants money.”
Hung’s campaign team said: “The so-called ‘intended exchanges’ are not true, and Chou never asked Hung or the office for verification.”
“Rather, she spread a rumor and is suspected of causing harm to the reputation and image of [Hung] through deliberate fabrication,” it added.
It is the second time that the team has taken Chou to court, the first occasion related to Chou’s accusations in June that Hung’s diploma certificate was forged.
In related news, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday voiced its support for Hung’s decision to file a lawsuit against people who spread lewd pictures online.
“Such acts are intolerable in a civilized society, and it should not happen to anyone,” DPP spokesperson Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) said. “We support the victim in taking legal action to prevent such acts and we strongly condemn such disrespect toward women.”
Wang was responding to remarks made by Hung’s campaign office on Friday that since early June, its Facebook page has been attacked by at least 78 accounts belonging to unidentified people using false names, who have posted lewd pictures and left offensive comments.
Hung’s office also urged DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to control her supporters, saying that it would take legal action against those who committed such offenses.
Wang said that while the Internet has become an important communication tool, such abusive acts are not acceptable.
“Tsai has often fallen victim to malicious attacks on the Internet as well, thus she also would like to call on society not to believe in false and malicious rumors spread on the Internet,” Wang said, citing Tsai. “She hopes society can tackle the issue together.”
Separately yesterday, Tsai said that she welcomed remarks by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) that Beijing would not interfere with Taiwan’s elections.
“I hope Beijing realizes that Taiwan is a democratic society, and it is normal for political parties to rotate in power, with whichever party wins the hearts of the people being in power, and a ruling party with failed governance being voted out,” Tsai said.
“I hope China respects the choice of the people in a democracy, and that Taiwanese are concerned about stable and peaceful development in cross-strait relations,” she added.
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