A Hong Konger who studied at a university in Taiwan has been ordered to pay HK$19,000 compensation to his professor after slamming him for "poor English."
The man was a student in the psychology department of Kaohsiung Medical University in 2018.
He was unhappy that his professor, surnamed Su, used Chinese instead of English in lectures and ended up sending emails to 117 staff members – including the university's president and department heads – to complain about Su's teaching, Taiwanese media reported on Monday.
He wrote "poor English" and "your English is horrible" in the emails – angering the professor who took it to Kaohsiung District Court. He sought compensation for damage to his reputation and asked the student to publish statements in leading newspapers to clear his name.
The court believed that the Hongkonger did not objectively discuss the professor's English ability but wrote the emails in a way that derogated him. It ruled that the student had to pay compensation of 70,000 Taiwanese dollars (around HK$19,000) to the professor but did not have to place the statements in newspapers.
