Legal experts yesterday urged CTiTV to drop lawsuits against tycoon Robert Tsao (曹興誠), who called it a “bandit network,” saying that the phrase had legitimacy in the context.

CTiTV chairman Liao Li-sheng (廖麗生) on Monday filed two lawsuits against Tsao, the founder of United Microelectronics Corp, seeking NT$500 million (US$16.17 million) in a civil lawsuit and pressing a separate criminal defamation suit.

However, Taiwan Jury Association director Chen Wei-shyang (陳為祥) told a news conference at the legislature in Taipei that Tsao has freedom of speech rights, while courts have ruled that CTiTV has received financial support from the Chinese government.

The association believes the TV network should drop the lawsuits, Chen said.

“Taiwan has media freedom, with journalists free to cover the news because we have a democratic society with the rule of law and good freedom of speech protections,” he said. “CTiTV enjoys media freedom and free speech, but it is trying to restrict media freedom and free speech with the lawsuits.”

The litigation is an “abuse of democracy to subvert democracy, and an abuse of freedom to suppress freedom,” said Taiwan Forever Society chairman Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎), an attorney, adding that CTiTV is owned by Want Want China Times Media Group.

The description of CTiTV as a “bandit network” (“feitai, 匪台”) is a reference to “communist bandits” (“gongfei, 共匪”), a phrase that has been used in Taiwanese politics, Huang said.

Although it is a bit caustic coming from Tsao, the phrase has a legitimate basis and has been used in media reports, he said.

Moreover, “the London-based Financial Times newspaper reported that China’s Taiwan Affairs Office directly influences news articles published by firms controlled by Want Want China Times, prompting group chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明) to file a lawsuit, which was later withdrawn,” Huang said.

Hon Hai Precision Industry founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) during a public event in June 2019 had an angry exchange with a CTiTV journalist, Huang said.

Gou asked the journalist: “When will the Taiwan Affairs Office stop giving instructions to your boss?” adding that Tsai “is a henchman for the office, always pandering to it,” Huang said.

“Gou accused media firms under Want Want China Times of working on behalf of the office, but no lawsuits were filed, so the courts are likely to rule that calling CTiTV a bandit network is based on factual information,” Huang said.

The term “bandit” has legitimacy, as it is in some armed forces regulations, he said.

The armed forces’ post office regulations stipulate that “military mail must not enter enemy territory, including communist bandit-controlled areas,” he said.

Citizen Congress Watch director Chang Hung-lin (張宏林) said that CTiTV was trying to intimidate Taiwanese by showing that it would sue anyone who calls it a “bandit network.”

Courts ruled in favor of former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Luo Wen-chia (羅文嘉) in two separate cases, the second in November last year, after Tsai filed a defamation lawsuit over a media interview in 2019.

Luo told reporters that “CTiTV received financial support from the Chinese government, so it can be considered ‘red’ media,” Chang said.

Moreover, an investigation into the Luo cases, which included an examination of Want Want China Times’ own accounting records, showed that it received NT$15.2 billion from the Chinese government in just over a decade before 2018, as well as payments of more than US$5 million for advertising and more than 1 million yuan (US$143,298) for rent to operate in Taiwan.

The judges ruled that there was no defamation by Luo, Chang said, adding that “Tsao’s ‘bandit network’ comment is protected by his freedom of speech.”

“He has his opinion, which can be a subject of public discussion,” Chang said of Tsao. “CTiTV should drop the lawsuits, as its action infringes personal freedom, is a waste of judicial resources and is meant to suppress media freedom in Taiwan.”

CTiTV said in a statement that its lawsuits were justified.

“Independence groups want to find a judicial back door,” it said. “They use opposition to China as an excuse to maliciously slander others.”

“This should not be permitted in a democratic, rule-of-law country like the Republic of China [ROC],” it said. “Pan-green groups are acting in a low manner in the name of resisting China and protecting the ROC.”

Chris Chen, a former military captain, spent a lot of time waiting during his week-long training for reservists in June. Waiting for assembly, waiting for lunch, waiting for training, he said. The course, part of Taiwan’s efforts to deter a Chinese invasion, was jam-packed with 200 reservists to one instructor. “It just became all listening, there was very little time to actually carry out the instructions,” Chen said. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has underscored the importance of mobilizing civilians when under attack, as Ukraine’s reserve forces helped fend off the invaders. Nearly halfway around the world, it has highlighted Taiwan’s weaknesses on that

BOOK OF MESSAGES: People lined up at the UK’s representative office in Taipei to ‘pay tribute to the queen’s contributions and devotion throughout her life’ Taiwan would not receive an official invitation to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday next week due to a lack of official ties with the UK, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. However, the government has expressed its wish to mourn the death of the queen on behalf of its people in other “appropriate ways,” Department of European Affairs Director-General Remus Chen (陳立國) said. “We are still waiting for an official response from the UK side and will make a public announcement once a final confirmation is made,” Chen said. According to the British government’s guidance, only nations with which the UK

‘UNPLEASANT MEETING’: The US in 1999 was displeased with the then-president’s remarks that cross-strait affairs are state-to-state affairs, the then-NSC deputy said Washington took issue with Taipei after then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in 1999 suggested Taiwan and China be treated as two different jurisdictions, a former senior defense official said on Saturday. Former National Security Council (NSC) deputy secretary-general Chang Jung-feng (張榮豐) recalled the events leading to an interview Lee gave with German radio station Deutsche Welle on July 9, 1999, in which he first proposed the so-called “two-state” theory, as well as the political uproar that followed. The theory, which characterizes the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as two different jurisdictions, is considered by many as one of

SIMPLE AND STURDY: As the brand’s distinct model became scarce in Taiwan, Liao Kang-pao opened his own shop, where he built and maintained the classic bike Motorcycle repair is a time-honored profession in Taiwan, but few can boast the unique distinction of building a career on the back of one model. At 67 years old, Liao Kang-pao (廖康寶) has spent more than three decades repairing Kawasaki B1 motorcycles at his shop in Tainan’s West Central District (中西). Even short-term residents recognize the distinct rumble of the B1, a mainstay of Taiwan’s streets since the 1970s. Taiwan’s unique take on the classic motorbike is the product of a collaboration between Japan’s Kawasaki and Yuen Foong Industrial that began in 1966. Although Yuen Foong was producing a cheaper version for years, the