Jason Chao’s defense argued in court yesterday that Macau Concealers was not the first media outlet to publish the name and identity of a University of Macau professor who is being investigated for several cases of sexual harassment.
Chao, a well-known political activist who served as director of Macau Concealers when the 2015 story was published, was unable to attend yesterday’s court session, but nominated several of his colleagues at the New Macau Association (ANM) to testify on his behalf.
ANM President Kam Sut Leng testified in court that Macau Concealers was in fact quoting online Chinese media outlet Today Macao when it published the identity of Professor Wang Jianwei as a suspect in the sexual harassment investigations.
She also pointed out that Macau Concealers had contacted the university to verify the story and that the institution had acknowledged that three investigations were pending against the professor.
However, Wang was not satisfied with the response. Though the professor admitted he had no knowledge of the Today Macao report, he argued that Macau Concealers still had a duty to verify that information before publication. He also said that the media outlet had failed to contact him directly.
Wang is suing Jason Chao for MOP50,000 and demanding a public apology on the basis that the report has damaged his personal and professional reputation.
He has previously alluded to Jason Chao and Macau Concealers harboring ulterior motives for wanting to discredit him, but that suggestion was refuted yesterday by Kam who said that Chao had no reason to go after the professor.
Instead, the purpose behind the article was to raise awareness of the pervasiveness of sexual harassment, she said.
Scott Chiang, another ANM activist and former association president, said on the sidelines of the hearing that he was optimistic about the outcome.
He stressed that not only was Macau Concealers not the first to identify Wang, but prior to that specific article, the news outlet had published two other pieces without revealing any information that could definitivelybe said to refer to him.
The court will convene to announce its judgment on September 6. DB
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