Prosecutors indicted Next magazine executive editor Pei Wei (裴偉) on Friday night on a charge of libel.
"Pei told us that he is the head of the magazine and has the authority to decide which stories will be published. He said he would take legal responsibility for the publication as the four stories did not contain bylines," Taipei Prosecutor Chang Chi-chuan (張志全) said.
Chang did not recommend a sentence for Pei, as is customary, leaving any decision on sentencing to the court.
Five plaintiffs have sued Pei over five different stories in the magazine. One of the suits was dropped, however, as Pei's arguments to defend himself were accepted.
According to Chang's indictment, the magazine, in its edition of Aug. 28 last year, published a story that said that Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-chin (
In its Sept. 10 edition, Next said the Chinatrust Whales (
In its edition of Dec. 18 last year, a story said that DPP Chiayi County Commissioner Chen Ming-wen (
Next also said in its edition of Dec. 25 last year that Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp chairman Winston Wang (王文洋) lost a lot of money on his investments in China and had to return to Taiwan to seek monetary support from his father, Formosa Plastics chairman Wang Yung-ching (王永慶).
In its edition of Jan. 22, the magazine reported that Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲), then the minister of the interior, took advantage of his position to help Ching-yu Development Co with a construction project. The story alleged that Yu accepted kickbacks from the company.
Each incident sparked a lawsuit against the magazine but Chang Chi-chuan accepted Pei's defense in the case involving Yu.
Although Pei insisted that the magazine's reporters had investigated the stories, he failed to provide evidence to support his statements, Chang Chi-chuan said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS