The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday filed a lawsuit against columnist Yao Ching-feng (姚清峰) for allegedly defaming the party and breaching the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
In an article titled “A Blue and White Majority Would Spiral the Legislature Into Chaos” that was published on Thursday by news Web site Newtalk (新頭殼), Yao said that Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who is also TPP chairman, was “a comrade of China.”
The color blue in Taiwanese politics generally represents the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), while white denotes the third-party force led by Ko.
Photo: Chien Li-chung, Taipei Times
TPP spokesperson Chen You-cheng (陳宥丞) yesterday said that his party must defend itself against baseless accusations online, which could harm party interests.
The TPP has decided to sue anyone, whether during the election campaign or after the polls, who tries to slander the party or insinuate in any way that it is connected with China, Chen said.
The article’s claims that the TPP’s political stance is identical to that of China or the KMT are fabrications, TPP legislator-at-large nominee Chang Chi-lu (張其祿) said.
“The party fully supports the nation’s sovereignty and sides with Taiwanese,” Chang said, adding that the party would never side with China to oppress Taiwan.
The TPP on Wednesday also filed lawsuits against some Internet users for allegedly defaming the party and breaching the act.
The netizens posted parts of a China Central Television political talk show The Two Sides of the Strait (海峽兩岸) on Professional Technology Temple, the nation’s biggest online academic bulletin board system. During the show, the TPP was mentioned and described by guests as “a key minority party.”
The party is suing the Internet users because it wants to condemn actions in line with Beijing’s goal of creating dissent within Taiwan, Chang said.
The show did not once express support for the party, the TPP said.
That the analysis could be interpreted by Wang Hao (汪浩), a guest on the show, and others as an endorsement of the TPP becoming “a key minority party in the legislature” is absurd and ill-intentioned, the TPP said.
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