The High Court yesterday handed down a reduced prison sentence of six months to suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) for falsely accusing a US academic of defamation.
The punishment cannot be converted to a fine, but it can be appealed.
The accusation stems from Facebook posts made in 2021 and 2022 by Chen Shih-fen (陳時奮), a political pundit and director of Western Washington University’s Center for International Business writing under the pseudonym Tario Ong (翁達瑞).
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
Chen said that Kao, in her doctoral thesis for the University of Cincinnati, used significant amounts of uncited content from two Institute for Information Industry studies that she had coauthored.
He also said that her academic adviser had removed her name from the roll and the university had removed her thesis from its database.
Kao, who said that the accusations were untrue, sued Chen for aggravated defamation.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office did not pursue litigation, saying that Chen had correctly identified 18 areas in which Kao’s thesis closely resembled the two institute studies.
Chen later filed a countersuit accusing Kao of making false accusations against him.
In the first trial, Kao was sentenced to 10 months in prison by the Taipei District Court.
The case was appealed and transferred to the High Court.
In the second trial, Chen requested a heavy sentence for Kao, accusing her of distorting facts for election-related gain and having a bad attitude.
Kao said that she was innocent and requested an acquittal.
Kao vowed to appeal again yesterday, saying that the University of Cincinnati has confirmed twice that there was no issue with her doctoral thesis.
She said allegations against the academic were based on facts with no intention to mislead or falsely accuse others.
Additional reporting by Chang Wen-chuan and Kayleigh Madjar
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
1.4nm WAFERS: While TSMC is gearing up to expand its overseas production, it would also continue to invest in Taiwan, company chairman and CEO C.C. Wei said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) has applied for permission to construct a new plant in the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區), which it would use for the production of new high-speed wafers, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council, which supervises three major science parks in Taiwan, confirmed that the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau had received an application on Friday from TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to commence work on the new A14 fab. A14 technology, a 1.4 nanometer (nm) process, is designed to drive artificial intelligence transformation by enabling faster computing and greater power
RSS