Chen Shui-bian loses a lawsuit

Chen is down but not out. He may appeal to the Supreme Court, and we believe he will.

But even the highest court of the land may be unable to save Chen, the defense lawyer defending himself. He can’t produce evidence that he did not falsely accuse in public the two opposition party leaders of masterminding what he called a “soft coup” against him, shortly after his re-election in 2004. Lien and Soong sued him for defamation, demanding he run an open apology in major media outlets in Taipei and abroad and pay damages.

One has to stretch one’s imagination beyond limits to link Lien and Soong with the soft coup, which Chen also labeled as the “Seven Days’ Coup” a la popular mystery “Seven Days in May.” Chen claimed retired generals and admirals tried in vain, at the behest of Lien and Soong, to persuade their former colleagues still in active service to malinger all at once so that they might resign en masse to embarrass him enough to step down on his own accord. Their attempts were thwarted, according to Chen, like the abortive palace coup at the White House concocted by politicians in collaboration with brass hats in the American novel.

The only evidence Chen produced at the appellate court to defend himself was a written report by Admiral Lee Jye, then chief of the general staff. But the report failed to exonerate Chen, for the admiral only admitted two generals talked to him over the phone about the attempted malingering, which he rejected outright.

Moreover, Lee testified the two generals didn’t mention the names of Lien and Soong in their brief telephone conversation.

All Lien and Soong want is an open apology to clear their names. They hope the president will learn a lesson from his lost case and refrain from “Chenesque” rhetoric while he campaigns for his DPP candidates for the Legislative Yuan and standard-bearer Frank Hsieh. Chen will pay no heed, of course. He will continue to blast all KMT candidates, including Ma Ying-jeou, who is running for president, just as he maligned Lien and Soong.

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