The Constitutional Court is next month to start the process of handling a constitutional challenge calling for the use of swear words to be decriminalized in connection with public insults.
The challenge was brought by prominent figures involved in related lawsuits, such as media personality Neil Peng (馮光遠), author Chang Ta-chuen (張大春) and sports agent Yang Hui-ju (楊蕙如).
Peng was found guilty of public insult and fined NT$5,000 after calling former National Security Council secretary-general King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) “a rotten egg,” “scum” and a “sleazebag” in 2015.
Photo: Taipei Times file
Chang had to pay a fine of NT$3,000 after being was found guilty of public insult for saying that media personality Liu Chun-yao (劉駿耀) had a head “full of shit,” and was “sleazy” and “shameless” in 2015.
Yang was found guilty of insulting a public official after instructing a man surnamed Tsai (蔡) to post messages online criticizing diplomatic officials at Taiwan’s representative office in Osaka, Japan, for their alleged failure to assist Taiwanese passengers stranded at Osaka Kansai International Airport during a typhoon in 2018.
Yang last year paid a NT$150,000 fine in lieu of serving a five-month sentence.
She is among eight plaintiffs challenging the offense of insulting a public official, saying it infringes on her freedom of speech.
The offense falls under Article 149 of the Criminal Code, and those found guilty of it can be sentenced to up to one year in prison and fined up to NT$100,000.
Thirty plaintiffs are challenging the public insult offense. Most of them were convicted under Article 309 of the Criminal Code, which imposes a fine of up to NT$9,000.
Some of the cases involved the utterance of obscene terms, colloquial expletives or other slurs such as “slut” or “idiot.”
Judicial Yuan President Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力), who heads the Constitutional Court, said that the oral arguments on public insults and insulting a public official would be heard on Dec. 25 and 26 respectively.
By law, a ruling must be made within three months of that date, although a two-month extension can be granted.
Before becoming president of the Judicial Yuan in 2016, Hsu in 2012 criticized the authorities and courts for indicting people for insulting others.
Hsu at the time recommended a review, saying the courts should interpret tarnishing of one’s character and dignity as relating to hatred “based on race, religious beliefs, gender and sexual orientation.”
More common insults such as the use of expletives during disputes, although they could hurt someone’s feelings, should not be an issue court should have to deal with, Hsu said.
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