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Free speech in peril, DPP says
SPEAKING OUTDPP spokesperson Lin Yu-chang said the
government is using the executive and judicial agencies to control comments it
does not approve of
Staff Writer, with CNA
The authorities were strangling free speech when the Presidential Office voiced
support for a former minister in a controversial legal action, the Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) has said.
The Taipei Prosecutors¡¦ Office on Friday began handling a request by the
Department of Health (DOH) to prosecute seven talk show pundits and a physician
for allegedly spreading rumors about the influenza A(H1N1) flu vaccine.
While former DOH head Yaung Chih-liang (·¨§Ó¨}) revealed on an ERA News talk show
on Thursday that the petition against the pundits was the last official document
he signed during his time as the country¡¦s top health administrator, the
complaint was filed in the name of the DOH.
The whole process looked like ¡§a well-choreographed political move,¡¨ DPP
spokesperson Lin Yu-chang (ªL¥k©÷) said.
The government is using the executive and judicial agencies to control comments
it does not like Lin said.
Contending that their sensational allegations made people reluctant to get
vaccinated and left some vulnerable to severe bouts of flu and even death, Yaung
said he felt compelled to file the complaint to prevent the further spread of
misleading information to better protect public health.
This marked the first time that a government agency has taken legal action
against television pundits over what it called false comments about the flu
vaccine.
The Taipei Prosecutors¡¦ Office said the prosecutor responsible for the case will
summon DOH officials and the accused for questioning in the next few days.
If indicted and found guilty, each of the pundits is subject to a fine of up to
NT$500,000 (US$17,100), according to a law on the prevention of contagious
disease.
The seven pundits against whom the DOH is taking action are the program¡¦s host
Cheng Hung-yi (¾G¥°»ö) and six guests ¡X Hsu Yung-ming (®}¥Ã©ú), Chung Nien-huan (Áé¦~®Ì),
Wu Kuo-tung, (§d°ê´É), Wang Ting-yu (¤ý©w¦t), Hou Han-chun («Jº~§g) and Ho Po-wen (¦ó³Õ¤å).
Cheng has refuted Yaung¡¦s accusation and said the former DOH head had refused an
invitation from the show to discuss the vaccine issue.
He insisted the show was only providing the public with information about both
the positive and negative impact of flu vaccines, and added he would consider
filing a defamation lawsuit against Yaung.
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