Teen files 12 lawsuits against pro-Han bullies

By Jason Pan / Staff reporter





An 18-year-old has filed lawsuits against 12 people after she received abuse online and was threatened by supporters of Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) following an incident at a pancake house in Kaohsiung.

Over the weekend, the student surnamed Tsai (蔡) said that she was taunted, called names and personally attacked by “Han fans,” and decided that something had to be done.

Recently graduated from vocational school and attending university in the fall, Tsai showed examples from Facebook and other social media where “Han fans” had written insults and attacks such as: “You look like a pretty girl, but inside you are lowly scum” and “You are just pretending to be an innocent student, but really you work as a prostitute, right?”

The online abuse and bullying was difficult to take, Tsai said, adding that she became depressed and lost sleep over it.

“I thought that it was a waste of time to get angry at these people,” she said, before adding that she later decided to file lawsuits after receiving a message from a supporter.

“The message urged me to be brave and to stay strong, and said that I should sue the people who attacked me. It said that if I didn’t take action, then bad people would be more arrogant and overbearing, and more victims would suffer bullying and harassment,” Tsai said.

“Some people who are not mentally strong might commit suicide,” she added.

Veteran media personality and political pundit Wang Ruei-de (王瑞德) said that he had given Tsai advice, as he had been abused and slandered online, but had won a lawsuit against his attackers.

“I advised her on how to collect the evidence, how to present the materials and how to file a lawsuit — and I will help Tsai through the judicial process and the trial,” Wang said.

Last week, Tsai became caught up in an incident at the Kuang De House of Pancakes in Kaohsiung, where supporters of Han and groups launching a recall campaign against him became embroiled in a verbal confrontation.

Tsai, who lives in Taichung, said that she was traveling at the time with friends in southern Taiwan.

TV crews captured a woman telling Tsai and the shop owner: “Han is such a good mayor, but you want to recall him! You can go die!”

Han supporters threatened violence against the shop owner, writing on YouTube: “We will come to burn down your business.”

As a result, the shop owner’s landlord terminated the rental agreement, forcing him to find another shop to rent.