A person in a dispute who scorned another on social media by using abbreviations of the Zhuyin Fuhao (注音符號) phonetic system, commonly known as “Bopomofo,” has been found guilty of making a public insult and ordered to pay a NT$5,000 fine.
The Taichung District Court ruled that the defendant, a woman surnamed Chen (陳), had written a severe insult in posting her message on the online public forum Dcard, using five phonetic symbols — “ㄍㄋㄋㄐㄅ” — which although it appears as a cryptic code to people unfamiliar with the Bopomofo system, could be read aloud as an expletive, obscene phrase in both Mandarin and Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese).
ONLINE INSULT
Photo: Chang Jui-chen, Taipei Times
Chen was quoted as saying that she only got to know the plaintiff, a woman surnamed Lee (李), when buying shoes through the Shopee Web site, and had a dispute with Lee when she asked to return a pair of shoes.
Chen told the judge that Lee had first written a contemptuous response, and had misunderstood the situation, while stating her reply was not aimed at Lee.
In examining the evidence, the judge found that Chen had posted a conversation between the two sides to Dcard, with the aim of sharing the content with others, while also making Lee’s personal information — including Lee’s Instagram and Facebook accounts — publicly available.
The court added that upon questioning, Chen admitted to writing “ㄍㄋㄋㄐㄅ” as an abbreviation for the colloquially obscene phrase.
The judge ruled that Chen had publicly insulted Lee.
The judge ruled that the case had sufficient evidence and found her guilty of making a public insult, thus violating Article 309 of the Criminal Code. The judge ordered Chen to pay a NT$5,000 fine.
The ruling may be appealed.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS