Taiwan Councilor Cleared in Case Over Filming Near School

Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua and her assistant have been cleared of charges of defamation and false accusation following a complaint by a Chinese national who was accused of filming schoolchildren near Minsheng Elementary School.

The incident began when the Chinese national, identified as Ms. Liu, was live-streaming on Douyin near the school. Parents expressed concern that she was secretly filming students. When their attempts to stop her failed, they reported the matter to local representatives. Councilor Hsu Shu-hua subsequently posted on Facebook and held a press conference, warning of potential campus surveillance risks. Her assistant then accompanied parents to file a police report, accusing Ms. Liu of violating privacy, child protection laws, and personal data regulations.

Prosecutors reviewed surveillance footage and determined that Ms. Liu's live stream, which continued after she left the school vicinity, showed general street scenes and daily life. The faces of the children in the footage were blurred, making specific identification difficult. Consequently, the prosecutors concluded that her actions did not constitute a criminal offense and previously issued a non-prosecution decision for Ms. Liu.

However, Ms. Liu felt her reputation was damaged by being labeled as "Chinese live-streaming to monitor the campus." She then sued Councilor Hsu and her assistant, alleging they made public accusations without verifying facts and provided her photos to the media, thus committing aggravated defamation and violating personal data laws. She also accused the assistant of filing a false report despite knowing she had not committed a crime.

During the investigation, Councilor Hsu stated that her office received multiple complaints from parents and residents about an unknown individual filming students. As a representative of the district, she felt obligated to speak out to ensure child safety and respond to constituent needs. She noted that Ms. Liu's face was blurred in her social media post and she had no intention of damaging her reputation. She also clarified that her office did not provide photos or decide on media headlines used subsequently.

Prosecutors found communication records showing that before the incident, residents had indeed reported concerns about a "Chinese live-streamer filming Minsheng Elementary School students" and asked if police could be called. This confirmed the existence of genuine complaints. The non-prosecution ruling stated that Councilor Hsu, as a local representative, expressed her opinion based on constituent service and public interest after receiving reports of campus safety concerns. Given that she had conducted reasonable due diligence and had reasonable grounds to believe the information was true, she could not be considered to have acted with defamatory intent. Regarding the false accusation charge, prosecutors determined that the assistant filed the report based on information provided by parents. Even if the evidence was insufficient to secure a conviction, it did not prove that the assistant knowingly filed a false report. Therefore, based on the evidence, prosecutors found insufficient proof to charge Hsu Shu-hua and Hsu Yu-Teng with false accusation, aggravated defamation, or personal data violations, and thus issued a non-prosecution decision.