Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) campaign office yesterday said that it would boycott all talk shows by SETN (三立新聞) and press charges against the news network for alleging that Han on Sunday held an infant without her parents’ consent.
SETN yesterday reported that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate angered a mother by hugging and kissing her child without her consent during the awards ceremony of a baby crawl race in New Taipei City.
Han’s campaign office spokeswoman Anne Wang (王淺秋) said that the mother handed the baby over to Han, and that both parents were not against the mayor carrying their child on stage.
Photo: CNA
Rumors about Han holding the infant without her parents’ consent originated from a Facebook post by a person who claimed to be a friend of the mother, Wang told a news conference at KMT headquarters.
It was then shared by two Facebook fan pages — “No KMT is Good” (打馬悍將粉絲團) and “Just Against the Blue” (只是堵藍) — before SETN picked up the story, she said.
Given the news network’s “apparent bias,” starting today, the campaign office’s spokespeople would no longer attend any talk shows produced by SETN, she said.
“All their news reports and programs are just pretending to be unbiased,” she said.
“They have lost their credibility,” she added.
The office today is to file criminal charges against all responsible persons in the Facebook groups and SETN for spreading false reports about the mayor, Han’s spokesman Cheng Chao-hsin (鄭照新) said.
Before the news conference, the infant’s father, surnamed Wang (王), told reporters that since the mayor was presenting an award to his daughter, it would have been strange to refuse Han.
He is not a fan of the mayor, but “it is not like Han was a homeless man or a bad guy,” he said.
Certain media and netizens have overinterpreted the incident, he said, adding that he did not like seeing a simple baby race turned into a campaign against the mayor.
However, he plans to press charges against physician Chiang Kuan-yu (姜冠宇) for posting a composite picture showing Han hugging his daughter and an infant with herpes rashes, Wang said.
Chiang did not ask for his permission to use the picture of his daughter and his post has led to many verbal attacks, Wang said.
In response, Chiang said that the father might have overreacted and both pictures had been published by media.
The post was made for the sole purpose of educating the public about risks of infections for infants when they make contact with people outside their home, he said, adding that the post included links to related articles.
Since Sunday evening, he has been harassed by numerous telephone calls from unidentified numbers, he said.
If necessary, he would talk to a lawyer and consider taking legal action, he added.
Additional reporting by Chen Hsin-yu and Lin Hui-chin
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday released the first video documenting the submerged sea trials of Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine prototype, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, showing underwater navigation and the launch of countermeasures. The footage shows the vessel’s first dive, steering and control system tests, and the raising and lowering of the periscope and antenna masts. It offered a rare look at the progress in the submarine’s sea acceptance tests. The Hai Kun carried out its first shallow-water diving trial late last month and has since completed four submerged tests, CSBC said. The newly released video compiles images recorded from Jan. 29 to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to make advanced 3-nanometer chips in Japan, stepping up its semiconductor manufacturing roadmap in the country in a triumph for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s technology ambitions. TSMC is to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fab in Kumamoto, company chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. That is an upgrade from an original blueprint to produce 7-nanometer chips by late next year, people familiar with the matter said. TSMC began mass production at its first plant in Japan’s Kumamoto in late 2024. Its second fab, which is still under construction, was originally focused on
DETERRENCE EFFORTS: Washington and partners hope demonstrations of force would convince Beijing that military action against Taiwan would carry high costs The US is considering using HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as a forward base to strengthen its naval posture in a potential conflict with China, particularly over Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Washington plans to deploy up to four nuclear-powered submarines at Stirling starting in 2027, providing a base near potential hot spots such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. The move also aims to enhance military integration with Pacific allies under the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership, the report said. Currently, US submarines operate from Guam, but the island could
RESTRAINTS: Should China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, China would be excluded from major financial institutions, the bill says The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which states that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude Beijing from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China must be prepared
RSS