President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is suing a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator and two media personalities for NT$10 million (US$316,500) over allegations that he had accepted dubious political donations. However, it is by no means certain that these lawsuits will work out in Ma’s favor.
Consider the case involving a media pundit’s recent accusation that Ma received illegal political donations. According to Paragraph 3 of Article 310 of the Criminal Code, defendants accused of slander must prove that what they said is true to be found not guilty. However, this rule gives rise to a procedural contradiction, because if defendants are required to prove that their statements are true, they will have to give up their right to remain silent to be able to present evidence. Aside from contravening the principle of the presumption of innocence, this undermines the right not to be compelled to be a witness against oneself.
To resolve this, the Council of Grand Justices’ Interpretation No. 509 extends the scope of non-culpability, finding that even when the accused cannot prove the truthfulness of their statements, if, based on the evidence they present, the court finds that they had reasonable grounds to think the statements were true, it cannot find them guilty.
This is what is known as the maxim that when a deed may be considered both good and bad, the law should look more to the good. Accordingly, in relation to Ma’s defamation suits, if criminal proceedings are initiated, the accused may contend that anything they said or wrote had not only already been reported by news media, but was being investigated by the Special Investigation Division of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. They may argue that since what they said was not smoke without fire, it cannot be proven to be malicious. Presented with such arguments, the court would naturally be unable to find the defendants guilty.
Although the chances of the accused being found guilty of defamation are extremely low, because Interpretation No. 509 applies to criminal cases, there are doubts as to whether it can be used to absolve defendants of liability for civil damages. It is especially difficult in lawsuits seeking damages for harm done to a person’s reputation, for as long as the plaintiff can prove that their moral rights have been harmed, the defendant will have to prove the veracity of any source they may have quoted, making it very hard to refute the plaintiff’s contentions.
And, while there is no law stating that the president cannot be subpoenaed, any court he attends would certainly accord him a courteous reception. The result will be that the two parties will not be evenly matched.
Furthermore, civil actions are conducted according to the adversarial system, under which judges basically do not intervene in the investigation, in addition to which all the information and material evidence are in the hands of the more powerful party to the case. This makes it extremely difficult for defendants to prove the truthfulness of their words. If they lose because of this, it will be a blow to freedom of expression.
Therefore, for the sake of safeguarding freedom of expression, the maxim that the law looks more to the good than the bad, as established by the Council of Grand Justices in their interpretation, must not be limited to absolving defendants of criminal liability for defamation, but should also apply to civil proceedings.
Furthermore, if Ma insists on trying to prove his innocence by suing people on every occasion, the public will only become more suspicious that he has some kind of connection with business corporations.
Wu Ching-chin is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Law at Aletheia University.
Translated by Julian Clegg
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then