Former National Security Council secretary-general King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) yesterday appeared at the Taiwan High Court to appeal his lawsuit against award-winning screenwriter and author Neil Peng (馮光遠) over the latter’s remarks that he has a “special/sexual relationship” (特殊性關係) with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
King is appealing the Taiwan High Court’s ruling earlier this March, which dismissed his charge of criminal libel against Peng.
King is now suing Peng for NT$2 million (US$60,735) for publicly alleging that King climbed the ladders of Taiwanese government due to his “special relationship” with Ma, a phrase that King said meant Peng suspected him of having a “sexual relationship” with Ma.
Photo: CNA
Both parties appeared in person at the courthouse for the hearing and engaged in heated arguments over the context and syntax of Peng’s phrasing.
King said Peng is claiming in court that the phrase should be read as “special relationship” (特殊性, 關係), despite publicly urging King and Ma to “come out of the closet.”
King also accused Peng of “distorting the facts” and demanded that Peng provide “substantive evidence” to prove his assertions. King said that Peng’s blog posts have exceeded the limits of public criticism by using “scurrilous language,” which King said has caused harm to his reputation and that of his family.
King’s lawyer argued that Peng intentionally implied a “sexual relationship” (特殊, 性關係) because Peng had mentioned in reference to King and Ma that “adultery is still a crime” in Taiwan.
Peng said he was attempting to shed light on King’s rise to the highest ranks of government and that the media was his source of information, citing, for example, that Taipei City Councilor Tung Chung-yan (童仲彥) had called King “the underground Mayor” during Ma’s stint as Taipei mayor.
Peng added that the syntax of the phrase as he intended referred to the use of guangxi (關係, relations) in politics, just as “one might say Minister of Justice Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) has a special relationship with Ma because Luo was Ma’s former schoolmate.”
Peng criticized King for his position in government without “having once earned a single vote from Taiwanese,” saying that King had “dined quite well” thanks to his “special relationship” with Ma, adding that King should “reflect on the massive damage” he had “inflicted on Taiwan’s democracy.”
“Whatever you are — heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual — is no business of mine or of Taiwanese, but for what reason did Ma appoint you to high office?” Peng said.
The court is scheduled to hand down its ruling on Oct. 6.
The coast guard on Friday took a Chinese fishing boat and the 17 people on board into custody, after it rammed into a patrol boat while attempting to flee. A 100-tonne coast guard vessel at about 8am discovered a Chinese fishing boat illegally operating in waters about 11 nautical miles (20.4km) northwest of Hsinchu, the Hsinchu offshore flotilla of the Coast Guard Administration said. The crew refused to allow law enforcement to board the ship and attempted to flee, it added. The coast guard vessel and another ship chased the fishing boat for about a half hour, during which time the Chinese boat
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that Beijing was trying to “annex” Taiwan, while China said its recent series of drills near Taiwan are aimed at combating the “arrogance” of separatist forces. The Ministry of National Defense earlier this month said that it had observed dozens of Chinese fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, operating nearby. The increased frequency of China’s military activities has raised the risk of events “getting out of hand” and sparking an accidental clash, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said last week. Asked about the spurt
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Monday said he would not attend the official Double Ten National Day celebrations for the first time this year, as its English name, “Taiwan National Day,” implies “Taiwan independence.” Writing on Facebook, Ma said he has attended every National Day celebration since entering public service 40 years ago, but “with an exceedingly heavy heart,” has decided to reject this year’s invitation. For the past three years, the government under President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has used “Taiwan National Day” for the event’s official English-language title, leaving the “Republic of China” nowhere to be found, he said. The move
RUNWAY UPGRADES: Airports and ports mainly scattered around southwestern Japan are being given major overhauls, primarily serving as civilian-use facilities Japan has chosen 33 airports and ports as candidates for improvement to enhance military capabilities, with a particular focus on infrastructure that could be utilized in a Taiwan emergency, according to a recent report in Japan’s Nikkei Shimbun. Citing the Japanese government’s fiscal budget proposal for next year, the newspaper said Toyko is to name some facilities as essential bases and receive funding for upgrades in line with the revamped national security strategy published last year. According to an unofficial policy document drafted last month and reviewed by the Nikkei, the Japanese government designated 14 airports and 19 ports for improvement, including