A DPP lawmaker plans to sue Next magazine for libel after the tabloid-style weekly reported that the legislator beat his wife.
Ker Chien-ming (
"The report said I beat my wife, which is ridiculous," Ker said. "I swear I didn't beat her. If the report is true, I'll quit politics."
Ker said he and his wife would be filing the suit together. "Next is among the worst garbage in Taiwan. My wife and I are definitely going to file a suit," he said.
Representatives from the magazine said the story was based on an interview with Lin conducted at Cathay General Hospital, where she had gone for treatment.
"Ker's wife told us the story. We have a videotape of the interview," said Pei Wei (裴偉), executive editor at Next.
Cathay General Hospital declined to comment on the magazine's report yesterday.
Ker refused to say yesterday why his wife had gone to the hospital. "This is my family's business. I will only talk about what exactly happened in front of the court," the lawmaker said.
This isn't the first time the magazine's reports have landed the publication in hot water.
The Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office in March seized 160,000 copies of the magazine after it reported on secret funds maintained by the National Security Bureau. The story's reporter, Hsieh Zhong-liang (
TV show hostesses A-ya (阿雅) and Hsiao-S (小S) and singer Fan Hsiao-hsuan (
Lin Chin-lung (
The Presidential Office has filed suit against four Next employees as well. The four employees allegedly attempted to pose as photographers' assistants to gain access to the engagement party of President Chen Shui-bian's (
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor