Taipei, June 24 (CNA) Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who is the Kuomintang's presidential hopeful, on Wednesday appointed a lawyer to file a criminal aggravated defamation suit against radio host Clara Chou (周玉蔻) and the general manager, editor-in-chief, and three reporters at Next Magazine Taiwan (壹週刊)。

Tzu-hsiang Yu (游梓翔), Hung's campaign spokesman, said that certain media have been viciously questioning Hung's educational background, claiming that the Master's degree in Education she received from Northeast Missouri University (now Truman State University) in the United States in 1991 was fake.

Szu-Min Chang (張思敏), vice president of National Taiwan Sport University, joined the spokesman at the press conference, saying he was Hung's classmate at the U.S. university and can vouch for her credentials.

In a statement issued later in the day, Hung said she would file a defamation suit against Windson Tsai Han-hsun (溫紳), a TV pundit who has said repeatedly on TV talk shows that Hung's late father was an informant to the authorities during the "White Terror" era in the early 1950s.

Hung said that when she decided to enter the presidential race, she knew that her personal life would come under scrutiny, but she would not tolerate any slandering of her late father's reputation.

As a victim of the "White Terror" era, her father suffered unbearable humiliation and imprisonment, and was never able to gain employment after he was released from prison, Hung said.

She said that although she had seen the harsh side of politics, she still expected that the person who made the false accusations would show remorse and apologize.

Disappointed at Windson's lack of remorse, Hung said, she has decided to file the lawsuit in defense of her late father's honor.

(By L.J Liu and Lillian Lin)
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