Taipei prosecutors rule that UDN report was based on forged document

Taipei prosecutors rule that UDN report was based on forged document

2023-09-05

Taipei prosecutors declare that the United Daily News published a report based on a forged document. Back in July, UDN published a report based on the “South Sea Working Group Meeting Records.” The report claimed that the government was developing biological weapons, and had discussed it at a secret “working group meeting.” After a month-long investigation, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office ruled that the meeting minutes were a forgery, as they were formatted differently from real Cabinet minutes.

Chen Chien-jen
Premier
I’d like to thank the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for its thorough investigation. As the government has stated repeatedly, the UDN report is patently untrue. It has caused unnecessary social panic, which the CCP has deployed for cognitive warfare. I hope that the United Daily News Group can recognize its mistake, be brave enough to make a correction, and take down that news story. Only by doing so will they prevent further harm to society.

Hsieh Pei-fen
Taipei City legislative candidate (DPP)
Journalists play an important role in society. They have a social responsibility. So what I want to say is that I hope they’ll be more thorough in their fact-checking. Don’t spread content that is cognitive warfare or misinformation.

Before the story was published, the writer had only verified the facts with a defense ministry spokesperson. The writer did not reach out to the Executive Yuan to verify that it had convened the meeting, or whether the document was real. Although the journalist had fallen short when fact-checking, he had balanced the report with responses from other government agencies. As a result, Taipei prosecutors decided not to file charges, as they could not prove criminal intent.