Taiwan: Taipei mayoral candidate found not guilty of defaming President as gay
Taipei mayoral candidate Neil Peng has been found not guilty of defamation after repeatedly calling out the President’s “special relationship” with his aide.
On Wednesday, a Taiwanese Court heard that the term “special relationship” used by Peng did not refer to a sexual relationship between President Ma Ying-jeou and his closest aide.
Peng had written on his blog that the two men had a “teshuxing guanxi” or “teshu xingguanxi.”
The latter means term means ‘special relationship,’ whereas the former means ‘special sexual relationship.’
Ma’s aide, National Security Council Secretary-General King Pu-tsung, filed the claim and said he would appeal the ruling.
The judge said the term ‘special relationship’ simply meant President Ma trusted the Secretary-General more than others.
Peng, who is currently serving a 20-day sentence for defaming a legislator as a “scum civil servant,” also called the President’s aide a “fool,” “bitch,” “prostitute” and scum.”
The judge said that while the names Peng used were offensive, they were more a commentary on public affairs than any libellous accusation.
Victoria Hsu, executive director of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, told the Taipei Times: “No one has the right, ever, to demand that a gay person come out, considering the institutional pressure that gays and lesbians endure.”
