When United Microelectronics founder and former CEO Robert Tsao (曹興誠) took on the role of leading the recall petition against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯), her KMT legislative colleague, Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲), accused Tsao of backing out of fulfilling a donation of NT$15 million (US$456,565) to National Tsing Hua University.
Tsao on Sunday issued a rebuttal that detailed the entire donation process, explaining that it was made in the name of the tech company he founded, and that ultimately, the truth is now out in the open. The issue here is not Tsao or his donation, but: Who got their hands on private donor data and leaked it to Weng, and the attempt at using behind-the-scenes “united front” tactics to discredit Tsao’s support for the petition to recall and unseat Hsu.
The source of Weng’s accusation that Tsao is untrustworthy because of a “missing” university donation was certainly not something Weng dreamed up herself, nor did they come to her in a dream as some sort of divine intervention or mystical telepathic calling.
The information likely came from one of the two following scenarios:
First, a staff member at National Tsing Hua University broke financial information and privacy laws and regulations by searching for Tsao’s donation record, but mistakenly thought the donation would have been a personal one made in Tsao’s own name. They then failed to find any record and provided such “lack” of information as ammunition for Weng, which paired well with the latest stage act in Weng and Hsu’s counterrecall saga.
Second, looking at how certain media outlets reported the issue, publishing articles saying that “Tsing Hua stated” and “Tsing Hua reiterated” not having received Tsao’s donation, but these outlets never specifically indicated which university department staff or spokesperson made the claims, nor did they verify the donation details.
If this is the case, there is a possibility that Weng and certain media outlets collaborated to spread disinformation in an attempt to destroy Tsao’s credibility and ruin his image as the leader of the recall petition against Hsu.
Information regarding personal donations falls under the scope of the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法). If someone at Tsing Hua University violated the law by hunting down Tsao’s donation history and provided it to Weng as ammunition in a defamatory campaign, they have contravened the law and should bear full responsibility for their actions.
If it was a deliberate attempt to spread disinformation, and they went out of their way to damage another person’s reputation or credibility, they are going to have to pay civil damages to Tsao.
Yeh Yu-cheng is a secretary at the Pingtung County Public Health Bureau.
Translated by Tim Smith
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