TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Kuomintang (KMT) vice presidential candidate Jaw Shaw-kong announced on Tuesday (Dec. 12) his intention to file criminal defamation charges against Guo Xi, chairman of the Taiwan Mahjong Greatest Party (TMGP), accusing him of spreading election-interfering rumors.
The dispute arises from a video aired on the "Chen Talk Show" on Nov. 17, where Guo alleged that Jaw misappropriated NT＄300 million from the New Party's campaign funds.
Hou Yu-ih's campaign spokesman, Chien Chen-yu, noted that since Hou and Jaw announced their joint bid for office on Nov. 24, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its affiliates have been spreading false statements.
In late November, rumors circulated that Jaw embezzled NT＄300 million in surplus campaign funds after the 1994 Taipei mayoral race, leading to his condemnation by New Party founder Wang Chien-shien and subsequent departure from the party. However, the New Party issued a statement on Nov. 30 clarifying that these rumors were false.
Chien emphasized that the Taiwan FactCheck Center (TFC) issued a report on Dec. 1 confirming the information was incorrect. Despite media coverage of the New Party's statement and TFC's fact-checking report, Guo Xi persisted in spreading the false allegations on Dec. 7, indicating an intent to defame and interfere with the election.