Taoyuan prosecutors yesterday indicted two people for allegedly faking death threats over their criticism of the government’s handling of an egg shortage earlier this year.
Online commentator Lin Yu-hong (林裕紘), who goes by the handle “Lin Bay Hao You” (Lin Bay 好油) on Facebook, and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) staffer Hsu Che-pin (許哲賓) were indicted on charges including forgery, malice and intimidation.
In September, Lin said on social media that he had received death threats over his criticism of the government’s egg import policy.
Photo: Cheng Shu-ting, Taipei Times
However, on Oct. 3, he posted an apology on Facebook, saying the death threats were fake and implicated Hsu in the scheme.
Hsu was detained for questioning, while Lin, who had gone to Europe, was detained upon his return on Oct. 7.
The Taoyuan District Court yesterday confirmed that Lin was on Tuesday released on bail of NT$450,000, while Hsu was freed on bail of NT$400,000 on Thursday last week.
Investigators yesterday said they had recovered Lin’s personal computer, which he claimed had been stolen while he was on a trip to Vienna.
Lin had sent the computer via mail to a friend in Taiwan, but the computer has been reformatted, which prosecutors said was a clear attempt to tamper with evidence.
Hsu worked in the KMT’s Policy Committee and was a social media community manager of Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Li-shan (張麗善). He was also the spokesman of former legislator Chang Chia-chun (張嘉郡), niece of Chang Li-shan of the Chang political clan in Yunlin County.
Lin on his Lin Bay Hou You Facebook page has written articles criticizing the DPP government’s agricultural policies, including former Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing general manager Wu Yin-ning (吳音寧) and then-minister of agriculture Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲), who resigned over the egg import controversy earlier this year.
Taiwan Statebuilding Party spokeswoman Yang Pei-hua (楊佩樺) yesterday lashed out at prosecutors for limiting the investigation to Lin and Hsu, saying that evidence shows the duo had a long-term cooperation with KMT figures, notably the Chang family.
“The pair led organized and sustained online campaigns to produce disinformation, disseminate fake analysis pieces and mounted cyberarmy-style attacks against the government,” Yang said.
Lin posted more than 40 articles about the egg shortage, criticizing the purchase program earlier this year.
The case “has obvious fingerprints of meddling by the Chinese government, using secret conduits to fund disinformation campaigns. The Chinese media quickly picked up the news and ran commentaries about the controversy,” she added.
Lin and Hsu were very active in posting messages on social media and chat sites to denigrate the government and mislead the public, she said.
Their aim was to oust the ruling party by persuading people to vote for KMT candidates in the Jan. 13 elections, she added.
Yang said that Hsu is likely operating a cyberarmy for the KMT, as investigators had found that he owned more than 1,000 social media accounts, which he kept active to push hot-button issues and to attempt to influence others.
DPP members yesterday also filed a judicial complaint against the duo, demanding a more thorough investigation of their funding sources, citing violations of the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and election laws.
DPP legislative candidate Hsieh Pei-fen (謝佩芬) said the pair had disseminated disinformation and stirred up controversy designed to create a false impression that DPP supporters had threatened them with death.
Their objective is to sow social discord and hatred, she said, adding that they likely had external funding to support their online attacks on DPP figures.
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