A Taiwanese blogger named Liu (劉), who writes about a variety of topics including lifestyle and food, was sentenced to 30 days in jail, two years of probation, and given a NT$200,000 (US$6,926) fine for saying a restaurant's food was too salty, according to the Taipei Times.
After the female blogger visited a Taichung beef noodle shop in 2008 and ate one bowl of dry noodles and two side dishes, she declared on her blog that the restaurant's food was too salty. But the negative comments didn't end there.
The blogger said the restaurant was dirty and had roaches. She also called the owner a "bully" because he allowed cars to park in front of the restaurant, which created a traffic jam. The restaurant owner sued her for defamation - and won.
While the court said Liu's mention of the roaches was a factual description rather than slander, the judge said Liu's criticism that all the food was salty was not objective because she had only eaten one dish and had only visited the restaurant one time. Liu had to pay NT$200,000 to the owner for revenue lost as a result of the blog post.
What happened to freedom of the press?
Comment in the Chinese Culture Forum. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter and Friend me on Facebook.
沒有留言:
張貼留言