Suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) was yesterday sentenced to 10 months in prison for falsely accusing a US academic of defamation.
The Taipei District Court handed down the ruling yesterday morning. It can be appealed.
The accusation stems from Facebook posts made by in 2021 and 2022 by Chen Shih-fen (陳時奮), a political pundit and director of Western Washington University’s Center for International Business, who was writing under the pseudonym Tario Ong (翁達瑞).
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Chen said that Kao, in her doctoral thesis for the University of Cincinnati, used significant amounts of uncited content from two Institute for Information Industry studies that she had coauthored.
He also said that her academic adviser had removed her name from the roll and the university had removed her thesis from its database.
Saying the accusations were untrue, Kao sued Chen for aggravated defamation.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office did not pursue litigation, saying that Chen had correctly identified 18 areas in which Kao’s thesis closely resembled the two institute studies.
Chen later filed a countersuit accusing Kao of making false accusations against him.
He said that Kao returned to the university twice in August 2022 to revise her thesis and add the missing citations, then sued him for defamation the following month without informing the prosecutor of the changes.
Her actions showed she knew his accusations were true, but she still accused him of defamation, Chen said.
Kao’s lawyer said that before they filed the lawsuit, the university and institute said there was no issue with her thesis.
The institute later changed its mind, but it had nothing to do with the lawsuit and Kao did not intend to make a false accusation, the lawyer said.
Additional reporting by CNA
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about 1,900 as
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
DEEP-STRIKE CAPABILITY: The scenario simulated a PLA drill that turned into an assault on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, with the launchers providing fire support Taiwan yesterday conducted this year’s first military exercises at Longsiang Base in Taichung, demonstrating the newly acquired High Mobility Artillery Rocket System’s (HIMARS) ability to provide fire support and deep-strike capabilities. The scenario simulated an attack on Penghu County, with HIMARS trucks immediately rolling into designated launch areas and firing barrages at the Wangan (望安) and Cimei (七美) islands, simulating the provision of fire support against invading forces. The HIMARS are supposed to “fire and leave,” which would significantly increase personnel and equipment survivability, a military official said. The drill simulated an exercise launched by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern
RSS