The Chinese adage that “troubles often come from the mouth” could not be more fitting for two people who were slapped with a defamation lawsuit for name-calling on Wednesday.
Loren Allen Billings, an American teacher at Chi Nan University in Nantou County, was charged with defamation for allegedly saying “up yours” to his Taiwanese supervisor when the two quarreled over a vacuum cleaner last August.
The argument ensued when his supervisor, Chou Hsiao-ching (周曉青), confronted Billings for not returning the appliance, and Billings retorted that he was not able to put the vacuum back because Chou had locked the utility room.
During the spat, Billings allegedly told Chou: “You are the most barbaric Chinese,” followed by the phrase “up yours.”
Chou reported Billings to Puli police on the grounds of defamation, saying the phrase was extremely crude.
The local prosecutor sought the assistance of National Taiwan Normal University’s translation department to ascertain the connotation of the phrase.
Billings had denied calling Chou “the most barbaric Chinese,” but admitted to using the phrase “up yours.”
The US teacher argued that the phrase simply means “forget about it” or “whatever” in English.
Chou said the lawsuit was not an act of xenophobia or prejudice, but should serve as a warning to foreign teachers not to verbally abuse their colleagues or students.
The government, she said, should also seriously ponder how to best deal with emotional issues experienced by foreigners in Taiwan.
In related news, a 19-year-old man surnamed Tseng was found guilty on Wedneday of defamation for calling his high school classmate surnamed Chang “black pig” and “gay” two years ago.
At that time, Tseng admitted using the terms but argued that he could have been addressing another person when he spewed out the insults.
Chang, however, insisted there was no third person in the room and said they were standing close face-to-face when Tseng used the derision.
The judge ruled in favor of Chang after a reenactment of the altercation when it was determined the two were standing 65cm apart at the time of the fight.
Tseng’s mother said his son has been troubled by the lawsuit for two years to the point of emotional breakdown and said she hoped he could soon begin anew.
Tseng has been given 20 days of detention and a fine.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY HUANG LI-HSIANG AND LIN HSIAO-YUN
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