A self-described descendent of Byzantine emperors yesterday denied media reports that he sold fake titles of nobility to Taiwanese celebrities for profit under the cover of charity work.
The man, who calls himself Prince Henri Constantine de Vigo Aleramico Lascaris Paleologo, Head of the Imperial House of Byzantium, accused Next magazine and several TV channels of smearing his humanitarian activities in Taiwan.
A report in the Oct. 7 issue of the Next magazine said Henri is a scam artist who knights celebrities who are willing to pay exorbitant sums for aristocratic titles in the defunct empire.
"The Byzantine Emperor met his demise in the 15th century. How can this Henri, who claims to be an heir to the Imperial House of Byzantine, still knight people around the world?" asked an Ettoday TV report.
The reports also said that in 2000, Chinese policemen found that Sara Kuo (
Lin Jyr-yih (林直義), a chief consultant of the Imperial Byzantine Order of the Star of Asia -- a title bestowed by Henri -- called a press conference to defend the "prince's" reputation and said Henri was shocked by the media reports.
An English-language letter written by Henri, who is currently in Europe, was read at the press conference. The letter, however, contained numerous grammatical mistakes.
The prince said in the letter that his "ambassador" in Taiwan sent him a report saying some media outlets in this countey published "untrue and libelous" reports about him and his royal house.
"I feel shock very much; what [is] even more incredible is how come such kind of report have come up in a highly intelligent, Taiwanese society," the letter said.
"However, the contents of those reports are so inaccurate about European culture and international relevant information, and I deeply feel so regret [sic] and sorrow about their extremely smear [sic] to the humanity [sic]," the letter said.
Henri said the "international society" recognized his royal status and right to confer titles of nobility.
He said he seriously declared to "those media which did [sic] the untrue reports to do the rectify and correcting report in fully true details, and to publish a public apology so that the public will know the whole truth."
"However, holding the dignity and justice, I preserve the right of lawsuit to the media [sic] which published the untrue reports," the letter said.
Kuo, who did not appear at the press conference, also wrote a letter to the press expressing her "sadness" over the media reports.
On May 26, 2002, Henri and his wife "knighted" nine Taiwanese, including the influential Master Hsing Yu (
Lin, who was also "knighted" in the ceremony, displayed a collection of photocopies of historical records, letters and legal documents to prove Henri's identity.
The documents contained numerous factual, spelling and grammatical errors.
Lin Fu-shen (林福順), a former law professor at National Taiwan University and presidential advi-sor, who attended the press conference, said he had studied several libel suits that Henri had filed against "a number of European media outlets" that had said the prince was a fraud.
"Courts in France, Italy and Russia all ruled Prince Henri winner of the cases and said that he is an authentic prince," said the professor, who was fired from the university for sexual harassment.
The Byzantine Empire existed until 1453. A cursory search of the Internet by the Taipei Times uncovered numerous reports questioning the veracity of Henri's claims and accusing him of being nothing more than a scam artist.
One such report on the Japanese Web site Nippon Goro Goro goes into great detail investigating Henri's claims, and contains links to several third party sources. The report can be viewed at http://radio.weblogs.com/0128043/2003/09/28.html.
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
DIPLOMACY: It is Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo’s first visit to Taiwan since he took office last year, while Eswatini’s foreign minister is also paying a visit A delegation led by Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo arrived in Taiwan yesterday afternoon and is to visit President William Lai (賴清德) today. The delegation arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 4:55pm, and was greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). It is Arevalo’s first trip to Taiwan since he took office last year, and following the visit, he is to travel to Japan to celebrate the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Arevalo said at the airport that he is very glad to make the visit to Taiwan, adding that he brings an important message of responsibility
RSS