418 Hualien Earthquake Fake News Incident: CIB Refers 2 Netizens for Prosecution; Author Questions Tsai Gov't Speech Control Causing 'Chilling Effect'

This article reports on the 'Taipei Songren Road Ground Crack' fake news that went viral after the Hualien earthquake on April 18, 2019. The CIB's Cyber Crime Metropolitan Detachment referred a man surnamed Wang and a female netizen surnamed Lai for prosecution under the Social Order Maintenance Act. In a short commentary, the author strongly criticizes the Tsai Ing-wen government for recklessly amending laws to stop political opponents, leading to a 'chilling effect' even in 'non-malicious' cases. The article questions whether people will still dare to speak up about natural disasters or emergencies if publicly sharing what they see could lead to penalties, concluding sarcastically by 'praising Tsai Ing-wen.'