Taiwan: Taipei mayoral candidate found not guilty of defaming President as gay

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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.”

A coalition of over 120 gay rights groups campaigned outside the Taiwanese parliament in Taipei on Sunday for the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

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