Former National Security Council secretary-general King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) yesterday appeared at the Taiwan High Court to appeal his lawsuit against award-winning screenwriter and author Neil Peng (馮光遠) over the latter’s remarks that he has a “special/sexual relationship” (特殊性關係) with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
King is appealing the Taiwan High Court’s ruling earlier this March, which dismissed his charge of criminal libel against Peng.
King is now suing Peng for NT$2 million (US$60,735) for publicly alleging that King climbed the ladders of Taiwanese government due to his “special relationship” with Ma, a phrase that King said meant Peng suspected him of having a “sexual relationship” with Ma.
Photo: CNA
Both parties appeared in person at the courthouse for the hearing and engaged in heated arguments over the context and syntax of Peng’s phrasing.
King said Peng is claiming in court that the phrase should be read as “special relationship” (特殊性, 關係), despite publicly urging King and Ma to “come out of the closet.”
King also accused Peng of “distorting the facts” and demanded that Peng provide “substantive evidence” to prove his assertions. King said that Peng’s blog posts have exceeded the limits of public criticism by using “scurrilous language,” which King said has caused harm to his reputation and that of his family.
King’s lawyer argued that Peng intentionally implied a “sexual relationship” (特殊, 性關係) because Peng had mentioned in reference to King and Ma that “adultery is still a crime” in Taiwan.
Peng said he was attempting to shed light on King’s rise to the highest ranks of government and that the media was his source of information, citing, for example, that Taipei City Councilor Tung Chung-yan (童仲彥) had called King “the underground Mayor” during Ma’s stint as Taipei mayor.
Peng added that the syntax of the phrase as he intended referred to the use of guangxi (關係, relations) in politics, just as “one might say Minister of Justice Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) has a special relationship with Ma because Luo was Ma’s former schoolmate.”
Peng criticized King for his position in government without “having once earned a single vote from Taiwanese,” saying that King had “dined quite well” thanks to his “special relationship” with Ma, adding that King should “reflect on the massive damage” he had “inflicted on Taiwan’s democracy.”
“Whatever you are — heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual — is no business of mine or of Taiwanese, but for what reason did Ma appoint you to high office?” Peng said.
The court is scheduled to hand down its ruling on Oct. 6.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
RSS