Taipei: The Kuomintang (KMT) announced on Wednesday that it has initiated civil litigation against the Liberty Times and its editor-in-chief, Tzou Jiing-wen. The party accuses the newspaper of publishing “entirely untrue” reports regarding interactions between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

According to Focus Taiwan, the KMT is seeking NT$2 million (US$63,696) in damages and is also demanding that a clarification notice be published for one month on the front pages of Taiwan’s three major dailies: the China Times, the United Daily News, and the Liberty Times.

During a press conference, KMT spokesperson Chiang I-chen stated that the Liberty Times published seven reports on January 25, January 26, and Sunday, which were described as “fake news.” The reports allegedly detailed a planned meeting between KMT leader Cheng Li-wun and CCP leader Xi Jinping, including claims about Beijing’s dissatisfaction with the KMT and a meeting slated for mid-March.

Wu Tsung-hsien, director of the KMT’s Culture and Communications Committee, mentioned that the KMT had previously sent two lawyer’s letters addressing separate reports. These reports contained accusations about “conditions” for arranging the meeting and alleged that a KMT lawmaker attended a meeting of Taiwan business people in China to “receive instructions from the other side.”

The civil complaint lists the Liberty Times, its editor-in-chief Tzou, and two reporters as defendants. KMT Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen highlighted that after Cheng assumed the role of party chair last November, foreign officials in Taiwan inquired about potential arms procurement conditions linked to the meeting with Xi. He noted that the reports had negatively impacted the KMT’s reputation, especially with the upcoming “nine-in-one” elections in November.

Hsiao added that neither he nor Wu received any inquiries from the newspaper about the reports, describing this as “very unusual.” In response, Liberty Times spokesperson Su Yu-hui defended the newspaper’s reports, stating that they “all had basis” and underwent “reasonable verification.”