The Taichung branch of the Taiwan High Court issued a ruling earlier this week that has left food bloggers around the globe on high alert since the news broke on Thursday.
On June 23, 2011, the local English Taiwan paper, Taipei Times, published the first report of a local Taiwanese food blogger who was fined and sentenced to 30 days in jail following claims of a defamatory review.
The writer, named Liu, is a blogger who covers additional topics besides food, including health, interior design, and lifestyles topics, wrote a less than glowing review of a Taichung beef noodle shop that resulted in the owner claiming defamation.
Liu's post is seemingly on par and less critical than many other food bloggers around the globe, but the court ruled that her criticism of the restaurant "exceeded reasonable bounds" and sentenced her to 30 days in jail and levied a hefty NT $200,000 fine (approximately $7,000 US).
The post in question noted the presence of cockroaches, which the court found to be a narration of facts rather than intentional slander. The issue at hand comes more from a claim that the food is too salty, which the judge declared was unfair because she only tried one single dish. According to other reports, Liu tried the dried noodles and several side dishes as well.
In her post Liu also referred to the shop owner as a "bully" because he let customers park cars wherever, leading to traffic jams in the area.
The noodle shop's owner, Yang, says he learned of the blog post from a customer and filed charges against her alleging defamation. He went on to say that he filed the lawsuit because many customers then called the shop to ask whether her review was true and that he hoped to teach her a lesson.
There was an initial post in 2008, and a more unfavorable one in 2009, which is what sparked the lawsuit. A recent inspection of the property by health officials resulted in no findings of unsanitary conditions, which is why Liu was ordered to pay the NT $200,000 fine.
Huang Cheng-lee, a local lawyer in Taichung, told the Taipei Times, "Bloggers who post food reviews should remember to be truthful in their commentary and supplement their comments with photographs to protect themselves."
Since the initial ruling, Liu appealed and the Associated Press has since reported the 30 day jail term has been suspended after she agreed to compensate the restaurant owner.
This is not the first case in recent times that Taiwan has rendered judgments stemming from alleged controversial internet comments; however, this particular case involving Liu Ying-hui has received considerable attention given the number of food and travel bloggers worldwide that write about Taiwan's cuisine.
Many bloggers and writers took to Twitter on Thursday and Friday sharing their concerns and fears that censorship like this will set a precedent for other countries to follow suit. Some writers have expressed concern about writing a truthful review now, while others said this case has given them reason to question whether they will write anything about Taiwan restaurants and local cuisine.
Erin De Santiago - Erin is a freelance travel, food/wine, & Disney writer in Taipei, Taiwan, who has traveled within 40+ different countries to date.
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