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Taiwan president sues opposition for slander
TAIPEI - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou Monday sued the opposition party for slander after its spokesman cited a report accusing Ma of receiving money from the leader of an underground betting group.
The Taipei-based Next Magazine claimed that Ma had met Chen Ying-chu, whom it labelled a "super-illegal betting ring leader", on September 10, and obtained Tw$300 million (S$12.8 million) in political donations.
Despite denials by the ruling Kuomintang party, Liang Wen-chieh, the spokesman for the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), used the report to criticise Ma on a television talk show last week.
"Over the past few days, I've asked the DPP to stop spreading rumours but to no avail," according to a statement by Ma.
"In order to safeguard my reputation and correct the bad-campaign culture, I've decided to file a civil lawsuit against the DPP and its spokesman Liang Wen-chieh".
Ma demanded Tw$2.0 million worth of damages and a public apology to be printed on the front pages of the island's four major Chinese-language newspapers.
Ma said that he would not sue the magazine, but he accused it of abusing the freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution.
The magazine said Ma turned to the underground gambling network as recent public polls showed January's presidential race pitting him against DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen was too close to call.
Tsai, a 54-year-old scholar-turned-politician, is vying to become Taiwan's first female president.
