Media personality Clara Chou (周玉蔻) was yesterday found guilty of defaming former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and was sentenced to 50 days in jail by the Taiwan High Court, a ruling Chou said was swayed by political considerations.
It was a reversal of the not guilty verdict from the Taipei District Court in December 2015.
The 50-day prison term can be commuted by paying a fine of NT$50,000 (US$1,631).
Photo: CNA
Yesterday’s ruling was final and it cannot be appealed.
Ma filed the lawsuit against Chou after she made accusations on talk shows and in statements to media outlets in December 2014 that she had evidence that Ma and his campaign team had received a NT$200 million off-the-books political donation from the owners of Ting Hsin International Group (頂新集團).
At the time, Ting Hsin was embroiled in a series of tainted food scandals after allegations it used adulterated ingredients and fraudulent labeling in its oil products.
Chou said that Ma had become the company’s “guardian protector,” shielding it from prosecution.
During the court hearing, Chou was asked about the basis of her allegations and if she had checked with other sources.
Chou said she had checked the allegations with other media pundits, including Hu Chung-hsin (胡忠信) and Tsai Yu-chen (蔡玉真).
The judges considered these “personal opinions and information of subjective conjectures” and that “Chou had relied too much on her own interpretation,” the ruling said.
Chou said the ruling was swayed by political considerations.
“It is an honor for the case to become a symbol of political interference in the justice system. This is a witch hunt by the judiciary,” Chou said in a statement.
She aimed her invective directly at Presiding Judge Chen Hsiao-pei (陳筱佩) and the other two bench judges handling the case.
“Thank you, Presiding Judge Chen... Your political color is clearly shown. I hope you can bear to face your conscience,” Chou wrote. “As for the other two bench judges, you have opened people’s eyes with your display of cowardliness.”
Chou released another statement saying the decision was contrary to the Council of Grand Justices’ Constitutional Interpretation No. 509 and “as such, this ruling is unconstitutional. I will not retreat from this and will file for a constitutional interpretation of the case.”
Chou also hinted that she would not serve the 50-day prison term.
“I have many friends who will fight each other to pay the fine for me,” she said.
Ma’s office released a statement to thank the judges “for clarifying the truth and making the appropriate ruling in this case.”
WHEELING AND DEALING? Hou You-yi, Ko Wen-je, Eric Chu and Ma Ying-jeou are under investigation for allegedly offering bribes for the other side to drop out of the race Taipei prosecutors have started an investigation into allegations that four top politicians involved in attempts to form a “blue-white” presidential ticket have contravened election regulations. Listed as defendants are Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). The case stemmed from judicial complaints filed last month with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office alleging that the KMT (blue) and the TPP (white) had engaged in bribery by offering money or other enticements
ELIGIBLE FOR JANUARY: All presidential candidates and their running mates meet the requirements to run for office, and none hold dual citizenship, the CEC said Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator and vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈) is working with the Central Election Commission (CEC) to resolve issues with her financial disclosure statement, a spokesman for the candidate said yesterday, after the commission published the statements of all three presidential candidates and their running mates, while confirming their eligibility to run in the Jan. 13 election. Wu’s office spokesman, Chen Yu-cheng (陳宥丞), said the candidate encountered unforeseen difficulties disclosing her husband’s finances due to being suddenly thrust into the campaign. She is also the first vice presidential nominee to have a foreign spouse, complicating the reporting of
GOOD NEWS: Although open civic spaces are shrinking in Asia-Pacific countries and territories, Taiwan’s openness is a positive sign, an expert said Taiwan remains the only country in Asia with an “open” civic space for the fifth consecutive year, the Civicus Monitor said in a report released yesterday. The People Power Under Attack 2023 report named Taiwan as one of only 37 open countries or territories out of 198 globally, and the only one in Asia. Compiled by Civicus — a global alliance of civil society organizations dedicated to bolstering civil action — the ranking compiled annually since 2017 measures the state of freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression around the world. Researchers assign each country or territory one of five rankings describing the
NOT JUST CHIPS: Although semiconductor processes are on the list, it also includes military technology and post-quantum cryptography to combat emerging cyberthreats The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) yesterday released a list of 22 technologies it considers crucial to the nation’s security and competitiveness, including the 14-nanometer semiconductor process and advanced chip packaging. For the first time, the council made a list of core technologies with an aim of preventing secret information about those technologies being leaked to foreign countries, which could put the nation’s security and the competitiveness of local industries at risk. For years, local semiconductor companies have faced challenges from talent poaching and theft of corporate secrets by Chinese competitors, who are seeking to rapidly advance their technology capabilities through
RSS