Ko Chih-en ( 柯志恩 ) staged a photo-op in Meinong, Kaohsiung, accusing Chen Chi-mai （陳其邁） of covering up illegal sand mining and even dubbing the excavated farmland the “Meinong Grand Canyon.” Sharp-eyed netizens, however, noticed that the person accompanying Ko at the event was actually the owner who had been illegally mining the sand.

The farmland owner had been profiting handsomely from the theft of sand and, astonishingly, even lent the site to Ko so he could smear Chen Chi-mai. Whether he was being used or was a willing conspirator, Ko’s election stunt was shameful — netizens mocked it as a performance of “stealing from himself and then acting it out.”

In fact, the Kaohsiung city government had already cracked down on this illegal sand-mining case; the operator was referred to prosecutors for investigation. Yet Ko stubbornly doubled down, insisting that the bail set for the operator was too low — as if the amount of bail in court were decided by the Kaohsiung city government.

More absurdly, the landowner who posed with Ko is the assistant to a local city councilor. That councilor claims to be independent, but insiders know that many local politicians with criminal records label themselves “independent” because they prefer not to publicly hang the Kuomintang banner.

Ko thought he had found a weapon, but the stunt spectacularly backfired and turned her into an online laughingstock. Unable to save face, Ko then played the villain who sues first: she used intermediaries to ask the prosecutor to press charges for aggravated defamation, claiming that a DPP social media editor’s reference to the landowner as “one of our assistants” constituted defamation.

The landowner’s boss is an independent Kaohsiung city councilor, but that councilor is a supporter of Han Kuo-yu(韓國瑜) and an ally of the Kuomintang. The DPP editor’s use of “one of our assistants” was an apt description — the assistant’s boss is, in effect, one of the KMT’s own.

Compared with the casual phrase “one of our assistants,” Ko’s slanderous language against Chen Chi-mai was far worse. Ko circulated a meme that was nothing but a blood-spitting smear.

First, the main headline labeled the DPP the “Sand-and-Gravel Party,” implying the DPP was complicit, and accused the party of lying. This is the classic “the thief cries ‘stop thief’” tactic — in truth, it is the KMT that has, without doubt, behaved like the sand-and-gravel party.

The subheading claimed “the DPP protects Chen Chi-mai’s Meinong Grand Canyon.” The excavated farmland is not owned by Chen Chi-mai, nor is it very large, yet Ko wildly exaggerated it into Chen’s “grand canyon.” Ko’s whole family lives in the United States; she cannot plausibly claim ignorance of what a real Grand Canyon looks like.

The meme featured the DPP flag and accused the DPP of “smear and cover-up,” when in fact the joke has backfired on Ko himself. It was netizens who ridiculed Ko’s bungled show; yet Ko twisted the narrative to claim he was the victim of DPP slander.

Then, recast Ko’s election stunt as a legitimate act of oversight and whistleblowing. Ko, a KMT at-large legislator, seemed to forget her role and overstepped his authority by descending on Meinong to “expose corruption” — in reality, it was an election stunt.

The meme tried to sever any connection between Ko and the landowner’s assistant by citing “different party affiliations.” Ko plays the naive, pretending not to know that many supposedly “independent” politicians.

Again, the meme falsely described the independent councilor as a former supporter of Chen Chi-mai, using the past tense. Ko stoops so low that, in order to smear, she mixes up allegiances and misattributes Han Kuo-yu’s top campaign lieutenant as a backer of Chen Chi-mai.

Compared with the label “one of our assistants,” Ko’s defamatory rhetoric toward Chen Chi-mai rises to the level of libel, and the evidence is contained in that single meme. I strongly urge Chen Chi-mai to file charges for aggravated defamation against Ko.

This is not Ko Chih-en’s first time deflecting blame by suing. Three years ago, I exposed Ko for self-plagiarism in an academic journal article. The evidence was incontrovertible, and Ko could not honestly deny it. To distract attention, Ko commissioned the KMT to file a defamation suit against me — a suit that was never actually filed, allowing her to evade charges of malicious prosecution.

Now Ko has again hired others to sue the DPP. Based on his past behavior, I predict he will once more fail to follow through and file the complaint. If she actually dares to file, the DPP should countersue for malicious prosecution.

Ko Chih-en is a repeat offender when it comes to playing “dirty tricks.” Chen Chi-mai and the DPP must stop being punching bags for Ko’s smears. Ko should be made to pay the price for his dirty tactics.

Author: New Congress