Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday said that he would not press charges against talk show host Cheng Hung-yi (鄭弘儀) in line with his values of “tolerance and love,” hours after his campaign team said it would sue Cheng and several others for spreading false information about Han.
The campaign team at noon said that there have been false accusations against Han, including one of alleged vote-buying and another about a plot to assassinate him.
The team said it would collect evidence and press charges against those responsible for alleged extortion and contravention of election laws.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Han arrived at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office at 3pm, but told reporters outside that he was hesitant about pressing charges.
“I have been thinking... I have been advocating tolerance and love, and pressing charges seems to contradict those values. So I have been very conflicted,” he said.
Instead of entering the office, Han began taking questions from reporters.
He and his family members have been deeply hurt by the rumors and mudslinging, including aclaim that he was a “vegetable worm” — implying that he feeds off of others — and a gangster, Han said, adding that he was upset over Cheng’s accusation that he would sell the city out if he became mayor.
Rumors that China Unification Promotion Party founder Chang An-lo (張安樂) would become deputy mayor and that the People’s Republic of China flag would be flown in Kaohsiung are also false, he said.
Despite Han saying that he would not sue Cheng, Kaohsiung Chief Prosecutor Ko Kung-hui (葛光輝) said that prosecutors would investigate the matter, regardless of whether Han presses charges.
Prosecutors have obtained information about the cases and would not tolerate any attempt to mar the elections, Ko said.
Democratic Progressive Party Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said that he hopes his and Han’s supporters would remain calm throughout the elections.
He also supports tolerance and love, and that was why he hugged Han after a mayoral debate on Monday, he added.
Asked about reported threats on his life, Chen said that threats and bullying on the Internet are common, and that his campaign team would determine whether they were serious, adding that if not, he would “laugh them off.”
He urged his supporters to stay rational and refrain from overly emotional behavior.
Additional reporting by Huang Liang-chieh and Huang Chien-hua
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