A lawyer for Li Jianjun (
Li, a self-described feng shui expert, visited Taiwan in 1992 and married a former television hostess. Having entered Taiwan without a visa the same year, Li has since been barred from re-entering the country.
But it is Li's new book which has stirred up controversy here, detailing his encounters with a number of Taiwan's leading politicians, including Vice President Lien Chan (
In the book, which was released in Taiwan on Feb. 1, Li depicted Chu Wang-ching (
Chu, who has denied having close contacts with Li, was furious with what she read in the book and filed libel charges earlier this month against Li and the publishers of the book.
To prevent further damage to her reputation, Chu requested and obtained a court order prohibiting the publisher from selling any more copies of the book.
Following the granting of a temporary injunction banning the book, court officials raided the Taipei offices of the publishers, Way to World (
However, another 30,000 copies, which have been distributed to a number of bookstores, are still on sale.
Unhappy with the raid, the publishers and the distributor held a news conference yesterday, sponsored by New Party legislator and vice presidential candidate Elmer Feng (
"We're a small publishing company which has no connection to politics. But this court action seems like pure politics," said Liang Ling-shu
Feng alleged Lien was behind Chu's legal action against Li and the other parties, as Li's book contained negative comments about the KMT's presidential candidate.
Li, who is currently residing in the US, talked to media in Taiwan by phone during the news conference.
"Everything I wrote in the book is no less than the truth," he said.
Lin Hsien-tung (
Lin also said they are seeking compensation of NT$100 million for Li and NT$32.68 million for the other clients.
Chuang Shui-ming (
He said he made the decision on the grounds that there is a real danger of Chu's reputation being hurt by the contents of the book.
Because of media attention on the case, Chiang said: "It seems everyone is filing a lawsuit during the run-up to the election. But we can only process these as we would do with any other case, and that is without bias."
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
TRIP TO TAIWAN: The resumption of group tours from China should be discussed between the two agencies tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday reassured China-based businesspeople that he would follow former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) cross-strait policy to facilitate healthy and orderly exchanges with Beijing and build a resilient economy. “As president, I have three missions. First, I will follow president Tsai’s ‘four commitments’ to ensure that the country continues to exist and survive,” Lai told participants at a Lunar New Year event in Taipei hosted by the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). Lai said his second mission is to uphold the “four pillars of peace” by bolstering national defense, developing a growing and resilient economy, building partnerships with
‘INVESTMENT’: Rubio and Arevalo said they discussed the value of democracy, and Rubio thanked the president for Guatemala’s strong diplomatic relationship with Taiwan Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Guatemala City on Wednesday where they signed a deal for Guatemala to accept migrants deported from the US, while Rubio commended Guatemala for its support for Taiwan and said the US would do all it can to facilitate greater Taiwanese investment in Guatemala. Under the migrant agreement announced by Arevalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at US expense. It is the second deportation deal that Rubio has reached during a Central America trip that has been focused mainly on immigration. Arevalo said his