The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday said it would refer two men to a summary court under the Taipei District Court for allegedly spreading false claims that Taiwan paid for Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) recent speech in Brussels.
Hsiao spoke at the European Parliament in Brussels on Friday while the annual Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) summit was being held there, and returned to Taiwan early on Sunday.
The CIB said in a statement that it identified a 53-year-old Taiwanese man, surnamed Lu (盧), as the creator of a meme containing false information about Hsiao’s speech, which the bureau was notified about on Sunday.
Photo: AP
The image falsely claimed that Hsiao had rented the venue and sponsored the IPAC meeting using public funds.
A 41-year-old Taiwanese man, surnamed Chen (陳), allegedly shared the meme on social media and wrote "France’s BBC reported Taiwan donated 8 billion euros (US$8.97 billion) in exchange for a speech," the bureau said.
Chen told reporters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport upon returning from Japan yesterday that he had shared the post as he found it "funny" and considered it "satire," adding that he did not think it was illegal.
The Presidential Office on Sunday said it had asked law enforcement authorities to investigate the "fabricated content" circulating online.
Asked to comment on the rumors, IPAC founder and executive director Luke de Pulford on Sunday said that the claim was "fake news" and "completely fabricated," adding that the invitation for Hsiao to attend the summit was "freely" extended.
The CIB said the two men may have contravened the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which states that "spreading rumors in a way that is sufficient to undermine public order and peace" is punishable by up to three days’ detention or a fine of up to NT$30,000.
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