Freedom of speech does not include the right to purposefully inflict harm on victims of domestic abuse while hiding in anonymity, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Mark Ho (何志偉) said yesterday, one day after he had urged the closure of a bulletin board system on which people had accusations against DPP Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜), who is accusing her boyfriend of domestic abuse.
Freedom of speech and the diversity of opinions should be protected, and Taiwanese libel laws take this into account by giving special protection to criticism of public figures, Ho said.
However, insults based on events in public figures’ private lives are not protected, he said, adding that people who urge that intimate pictures of abuse victims be leaked are further traumatizing the victims.
Ho made the remarks to clarify earlier calls for the closure of the Professional Technology Temple (PTT), the nation’s largest online bulletin board system.
“PTT should be shut down,” Ho said on Friday. “Reading PTT comments, I found nothing but vulgar language, description of male or female genitalia and fake stuff that cannot be verified.”
He made the remarks in connection with Kao’s accusations against her boyfriend Raphael Lin (林秉樞).
Mirror Media magazine on Tuesday reported that Lin had allegedly locked Kao up in a hotel room for two days and threatened to leak intimate images of her if she does not stay in a relationship with him.
An account on a PTT board named “Crazy Winnie” later posted claims about the incident, apparently trying to clear Lin of the allegations
PTT on Thursday banned the account for 10 years, saying that the person behind Crazy Winnie held multiple accounts.
A PTT moderator called “q347” urged users to save messages they had received from Crazy Winnie claiming that the account holder had sent private video footage of Kao to the authorities for investigation.
Additional reporting by Yang Hsin-hui
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS