Taiwan: Former Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih Acquitted of Defamation Charges

Former legislator Chiu Hsien-chih has been acquitted of defamation charges stemming from the 2024 legislative election period. The case involved accusations made by Lin Chih-chieh, a national security advisor, who had sued Chiu for slander. The High Prosecutors Office rejected the appeal, confirming Chiu's acquittal.

Lin Chih-chieh responded to the decision, stating she respects the prosecutor's judgment. However, she emphasized that Chiu's acquittal does not mean his accusations were true. Lin highlighted that as a legislator at the time, Chiu accused her, an ordinary citizen, of plagiarizing a student's thesis. She also mentioned a personal difficulty involving her mother's disorientation and subsequent search, which she felt Chiu wrongly characterized as using public resources for personal matters.

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I respect the prosecutor's judgment, but the defendant's acquittal does not mean his words were true.

Lin reiterated that both the University of Yang-Ming Chiao Tung's academic ethics committee and the National Science and Technology Council had confirmed that neither she nor her students violated academic ethics. Although the election has concluded, Lin expressed a desire for such incidents to not recur. She stated that she filed the lawsuit to defend the fairness of the election and protect her personal and academic reputation.

Lin acknowledged the prosecutor's reasoning that she, as a public figure during an election, should have a higher tolerance for external scrutiny and that her prior press conferences and clarifications had limited reputational damage. While respecting the decision, Lin stressed that an acquittal does not equate to factual vindication. She believes that while democratic societies value free speech, baseless accusations made for electoral gain are detrimental to democracy. Lin, identifying as a legal professional, called for careful speech and conduct, hoping that similar incidents causing harm and disrupting electoral fairness will not happen again.

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Although the election has ended, I hope similar incidents that cause harm to others and disrupt electoral fairness will not happen again.