Author Neil Peng (馮光遠) yesterday was ordered to pay NT$1 million (US$30,361) in damages and publish apologies after a Civil Court reversed an earlier decision, ruling in favor of former National Security Council secretary-general King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) in a libel suit.
The ruling can be appealed.
The ruling came after King, a long-time top aide to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), appealed a High Court decision made in March seeking NT$2 million in damages over remarks Peng made saying that King had a “special relationship” with Ma, a phrase that King said implied a “sexual relationship.”
“I cannot accept this decision, because it is far removed from my expected outcome. For sure, I will appeal this case,” Peng said.
He added that the Criminal Court and Taipei District Court’s Civil Court both ruled in his favor in earlier decisions.
“Since no new evidence was presented, I am curious about the reasons behind the judge’s decision,” Peng said. “The ruling will affect the nation’s development, as well as have ramifications for freedom of speech and freedom of the press.”
King said this would not be the final verdict and that he would fight future litigation to highlight the difference between freedom of speech and abuse of free speech.
“Winning this appeal marks my first victory in a lawsuit since 2007. I have lost eight cases between then and now,” King said.
During a court appearance last month, King said Peng claimed in court that the phrase should be read as a “special relationship,” despite publicly urging King and Ma to “come out of the closet.”
King said Peng’s blog posts have exceeded the limits of public criticism by using “scurrilous language,” which King said has caused harm to his reputation.
Peng said in court that “King has never once earned a single vote from Taiwanese,” but had the perks and privileges at top government posts due to his relationship with Ma.
Earlier rulings said that Peng’s comments did not constitute libel.
While his wording was mean-spirited, they were not “empty slander,” they said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS