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KMT to sue show host, guests
‘DEFAMATION’:The party said the host and guests of ‘Boss
Talk’ failed to respond to demands that they clarify their remarks accusing the
KMT of judicial interference
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff Reporter
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said it would file defamation
lawsuits against the host and a number of guests on a talk show for “abusing
freedom of speech” by criticizing President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and accusing the
KMT of interfering with the judiciary in the corruption cases against former
president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
“The KMT has always respected and defended the independence of the judiciary ...
Accusing us of intervening in the system has clearly done great damage to the
party’s reputation,” KMT spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said.
The lawsuits will be aimed at the host and guests on the political talk show
Boss Talk (頭家來開講), which airs on Formosa Television (FTV). In last Thursday’s
show, the host — former Government Information Office chief Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉)
— and his guests discussed a ruling by the Supreme Court that day convicting
Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), on bribery charges, sentencing them to 19
years in prison.
The guests, who included former Democratic Progressive Party deputy
secretary-general You Ying-lung (游盈隆) and former reporter Wang Shi-chi (王時齊),
accused Ma and the KMT of interfering with the judiciary by vowing to lead
judicial reform and using the rulings to boost its momentum ahead of the special
municipality elections on Nov. 27.
In a letter addressed to FTV the following day, the KMT demanded that Shieh and
his guests clarify their remarks within three days or face legal action.
KMT Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) said that as the party did not hear
back from either the guests or the host, it decided to file lawsuits.
“Talk show hosts and guests enjoy freedom of speech, but they do not have the
freedom to fabricate lies and make groundless accusations,” King said, adding
that the KMT was not considering suing the TV station.
Su declined to confirm the number of guests the KMT would sue, adding that the
party would let the public know after it finished filing the documents.
Prior to the FTV case, former KMT chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) brought a lawsuit
against the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper),
while King sued political commentator Chung Nien-huang (鍾年晃), who appeared on
the Talking Show (大話新聞) program on SET-TV, again over their comments regarding
the Chen ruling.
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