Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) wife, Lee Chia-fen (李佳芬), yesterday pressed charges against two media outlets, claiming they had defamed her and Han.
Three lawyers representing Lee arrived at the Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday morning to sue ERA TV news anchor Catherine Chang (張雅琴), Apple Daily editor-in-chief Eric Chen (陳裕鑫) and a number of the newspaper’s reporters for what they described as “false reports.”
Chang has more than a few times made false remarks in her shows suggesting that Han, who is the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate for next year’s presidential election, and his wife have close ties with the Chinese Communist Party and would abandon the dignity of the Republic of China, said Kuo Yi-ting (郭羿廷), one of Lee’s lawyers.
Photo: Ko You-hao, Taipei Times
Between July 16 and Sep. 12, Apple Daily also published a number of unverified reports about the couple, including a story quoting a false rumor that Lee was not Han’s first wife, he said.
Chang’s and the Apple Daily’s reports helped spread false information about the couple without properly verifying the facts, he said.
Asked how many reporters Lee plans to sue, Kuo said that as the names of the reporters for the stories in question were not published, they hope to find out with help from prosecutors.
The team of lawyers would continue to collect evidence of slander against Han and Lee and press charges if necessary, said Chang Chieh-an (張捷安), another lawyer.
Last week, Lee also sued political commentators Anson Hung (洪耀南) and Cheng Pei-feng (鄭佩芬), as well as independent Kaohsiung legislative candidate Wu Pei-jung (吳佩蓉) for defamation.
Chen yesterday said he could not think of anything that would give Lee a reason to sue Apple Daily, as the multiple stories it had published about her illegal farmhouse and unregistered family tomb all proved to be true.
By pressing charges Lee just wanted to intimidate media outlets, he said, adding: “We will fight back by releasing more truthful stories.”
It is the media’s responsibility to keep the powerful in check and Apple Daily would not change its approach, he said.
Asked about the lawsuit, Chang said that she was preparing ERA TV’s evening news, adding: “Someone has to be doing work.”
In other developments, Han yesterday denied having proposed drilling for oil on Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島).
Asked if he had planned a budget for oil drilling during an interpellation at the Kaohsiung City Council yesterday, Han said: “Who has said anything about drilling oil? Let us set the record straight today.”
When Democratic Progressive Party Kaohsiung City Councilor Kao Min-lin (高閔琳) said that it was part of his platform when he was running for mayor last year, Han said: “Have you ever seen it in writing?”
Han proposed drilling oil on the island during a debate for mayoral candidates on Nov. 19 last year.
CPC Corp, Taiwan conducted two tests looking for oil on the island in 1981 and 2013, Han said at the time, adding that since the island falls under the jurisdiction of Kaohsiung, the city could benefit.
Later yesterday, the Kaohsiung City Government said that Han had never formally listed drilling for oil as one of his election platforms.
Han believes the idea would be possible if the central government and neighboring countries all agreed on the plan, it said.
Additional reporting by Ke Yu-hao, Ann Maxon and Lin Nan-ku
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