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KMT threatens lawsuit over TV show
CLARIFICATION:The party sent a letter to FTV after remarks
were made on a talk show about the Supreme Court’s latest ruling on former
president Chen Shui-bian
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff Reporter
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) threatened legal action after guests on a
talk show criticized President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), but the party said it was
only defending its reputation against political talk show guests and comments it
regarded as departing from the truth, and was not taking action against media
outlets themselves.
KMT Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) made the remarks in response to a
report published by the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday that said
the KMT would file a lawsuit against Formosa Television (FTV, 民視) over comments
recently made on its political talk show Boss Talk (頭家來開講).
In its show on Thursday, the host, former Government Information Office minister
Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉), and the show’s guests -discussed the Supreme Court’s latest
ruling convicting former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his wife on bribery
charges. The guests accused Ma and the KMT of interfering with the judiciary by
vowing to lead a judicial reform and seeking to use the rulings to boost
momentum in the upcoming elections.
The KMT sent a letter to FTV the next day, demanding that the TV channel clarify
the remarks within three days or face legal action.
Prior to the FTV case, KMT -Honorary Chairman Wu Poh--hsiung (吳伯雄) brought a
lawsuit against the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister
paper), while King sued political commentator Chung Nien-huang (鍾年晃), who
appears on a talk show on SET-TV (三立電視).
King said the statement was issued to FTV to demand guests on the show clarify
their remarks and stop tarnishing the reputation of the party.
“The KMT needs to defend our reputation if the guests on the show make
groundless accusations and smear the KMT. We are not aiming at the TV station,”
he said.
King said the party continued to respect and support media outlets’ rights to
monitor government performance and give advice, and agreed that it is the
government’s obligation to accept such supervision from the media.
KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) on Friday accused FTV, SET-TV and the Liberty
Times of holding extreme stances and attacking the KMT viciously in their news
coverage.
King yesterday dismissed speculation that the KMT would take -action against the
three media outlets following Hung’s remarks, and said the party is confident
that voters would denounce any form of negative campaigning in the elections
When asked by the press for comment, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said the KMT, being the governing
party, should have a bigger heart when responding to criticism.
The KMT should respect political commentators’ freedom of speech, DPP
spokesperson Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) added.
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