Don’t we have defamation that has to be backed up with facts in the west?
Yes indeed. but that can be a grey area. even guilty, sometimes people win defamation cases. witnesses saved you, as did the judge you won the popularity contest with. Insulting people online crosses a line from black and white, and it can become a shit show. Whereas private conversations are a different matter. I notice now a lot of social workers, police etc warn against posting.publicly but suggest recording privately for court.
Just playing devils advocate, but if one takes it literally. calling him a whore publicly you would need to prove he took money for sex, which likely cant be proven without one of the 2 admitting it. The judge just liked you more than him and/or he just didn’t care enough to push harder. But this would be easy as pie to escalate.
Yes, I believe the defamation laws in Canada/US are similar to here, as far as I know. That’s why I wasn’t particularly worried when he took us to court since what she said were facts.
Right, if it’s not that different, then how is it chilling to free speech?
Haha, yes, it can become a big mess. The best thing is to avoid this altogether. The other thing is that if you can argue that you responded in an emotional state because the other party was antagonizing you, the prosecutor takes that into account as well.
However, you are right, when you start getting into the definitions of ‘whore’ and so on it gets complicated. However, as defamation is a criminal offense the onus is on him to prove it.
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Because it is so easy to launch these types of cases in TW and many people are intimidated by it. Legally there’s nothing to be afraid of but many people are worried about it so don’t write/say what they want.
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Do they not have the same problem in the west? Is SLAPP not a thing?
As sexist as this might seem, I stand by it (for taiwan): Works better if you are female.
Use societal advantages and privileges to ones advantage. But be aware others can do that against you too.
This is how Singapore operates. Their ruling party uses the defamation threat to the utmost, stifling any type of criticism.
Just as an example, in TW its common to file a suit against someone for giving the middle finger. That would never happen in the West.
Why not? We have public insult laws in the west too. You could do that too in many western countries. Similarly, you can also be charged with disturbing the peace.
Ok, to each their own. From a N.American perspective we don’t want that kind of control of expression. But every culture is different I suppose. Taiwanese seem happy with it.
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But we have this kind of control of expression. It’s just that we know how to navigate our countries and less so when we’re in a new country. Sometimes it manifests a bit differently, but at the end of the day, it’s the same.
My point is, I don’t see why Taiwan should get criticism as ‘chilling’ and the west gets a free pass for very similar behaviour.
Ok, sure. I don’t think its a big deal anyways. It’s just funny/childish how the TW politicians are always threatening defamation lawsuits at each-other for silly stuff. Doesn’t happen in western politics nearly as often.
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That being said, probably not that important, like when TW politicians bitch-slap each other in parliament. All show but little outcome.
Didn’t used to be this way though… so are Taiwanese happy with it? This is a fairly recent law. I remember when the only concern for flipping someone off was getting chased down with a tire iron.
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Haha, I’ve been chased with the baseball bat a few times, tell you that for free! Not in the last ten years though;)
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It’s the same issue. it’s not that Taiwan is chilling and the west is free. is a cultural norm difference. No comment on the west. but it seems fairly obvious Taiwan has learned more towards a way of seeing and making problems compared to before (no point comparing Taiwan to other countries I think). Whether it’s people during for defamation, insults or the government sponsored snitching scheme that has clearly worked it’s way into culture now (eg. traffic fines). There are pros and cons to each situation of course. for example we see less weapons wielded on roadways now. Like night and day difference. a plus. But promoting a snitch culture leaning more Singaporean comes with its negatives as well.
Driving skill and traffic still remains pretty appalling here, regardless.
I’ve been chased by an irate taxi driver for having the audacity to call him out for nearly hitting me in the crosswalk.
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