Media personality Huang Kuang-chin (黃光芹) and former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Lai Kun-cheng (賴坤成) yesterday sued Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) for defamation, after the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate filed a similar lawsuit against them.
Huang and Lai, who filed the lawsuit at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, said that they had taken legal action because Han had first sued them.
The duo accused Han of making malicious accusations during his campaign rally last month, telling the crowd that “the majority of pundits have accepted dirty money.”
Photo: CNA
“It was a serious accusation,” Lai said. “Han did not name those taking dirty money, but then he sued me and Huang, which meant he was referring to us.”
Lai said that before discussing political issues as guests on TV talk shows or posting messages about Han online, he and Huang check their facts and justifications for their statements.
“We told the public about Han’s history, some of his more unsavory aspects and his wayward activities,” Lai said.
“Han knew these had taken place, but he felt that he was being put down and disgraced in public,” he said.
“So Han used the courts to try to seal our mouths and keep the public from knowing his past,” he added.
Huang, a veteran journalist and television pundit, wrote a biography of Han titled Walking With the Moon (跟著月亮走), which was published in January.
However, the two had a falling out after the publication because of disputes over proceeds from book sales and copyright issues.
On Oct. 7, Han filed seven lawsuits against Huang with the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office: four for public insult and three on aggravated defamation charges, claiming that she made false accusations in a series of articles.
Huang said that she has received threats of physical violence against her and her child by people claiming to be Han’s fans.
She said that having worked for decades as a journalist and written articles critical of prominent political figures, it was the first time that her personal safety has been endangered.
In her guest appearances on TV and articles, Huang has said that photographs showing Han drinking at night clubs were not the full story, but that he was also entertained by female hostesses at the clubs.
Huang said that other talk shows and media outlets have made similar allegations and that some have even said that they have photographic evidence.
“Han’s lawsuit against me is a form of blackmail, telling me and other pundits to shut up and refrain from criticizing him, not to mention his past disreputable deeds,” Huang said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS