2004/09/17 【Taiwan News】
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld the acquittal of a university professor who was indicted for circulating pictures of bestial acts on the Internet.
一位大學教授因在網路上散播人獸交的照片遭到起訴，台灣高等法院昨日維持無罪的宣判。
The ruling was a victory for Josephine Ho, an English professor at National Central University, who was originally acquitted of the charges by the Taipei District Court on June 25. The High Cour’s panel of judges stood by the district courts ruling, which said Ho’s introduction of Internet links to the pictures was likely to be part of her academic research on sexuality.
台北地方法院原先在六月二十五日宣告中央大學英文系教授何春蕤無罪，昨日的判決對她而言無疑是個勝利。高等法院的陪審團支持台北地方法院的判決，認為何春蕤在網路上提供這些照片的連結，應該是作為她性學研究的一部份。
In the original case, prosecutors argued that the professor had violated Article 235 of the Criminal Law by posting on the NCU Sex-Pol Center’s Web site a hyperlink to a foreign Web site that showed detailed pictures of bestiality.
原先的訴訟中，檢方指控何春蕤教授在中央大學「性／別研究室」的網站，提供刊登詳細人獸交照片的國外網站之超連結，已經違反刑法第二百三十五條。
The district ruling also noted that Ho posted the link in a section of the NCU center’s Web site called erspective and discussionwhere information about sexuality was routinely posted for academic study. It was therefore hard to conclude that the photos constituted obscenity, in accordance with the Council of Grand Justices?Constitutional Interpretation No. 407, the ruling stated.
地方法院也提到，何春蕤是在中央大學「性／別研究室」網站的「議題討論」區提供連結，這一區慣常刊登些性學資訊來做為學術研究。因此法院在判決中聲明，依照大法官釋憲第四百零七條來看，很難下結論說這些照片構成猥褻。
I hope every member of society treats the issue seriously and ponders the real meaning of this legal case, said Ho when answering reporters questions outside the courthouse yesterday morning.
「我希望社會大眾都能正視看待這個案件，思索這個案子背後的真正意義。」何春蕤昨天早上在法院外回答記者問題時說。
Ho, also known as an avant-garde feminist, contended that judicial authorities abused the criminal article against indecency to suppress creativity and the discussion of controversial issues related to sexuality.
何春蕤也是知名的前衛女性主義者，她辯護說司法機關誤用了刑法的反猥褻條文，鎮壓了創造力，還有與性有關的爭議性話題之討論。
She was indicted last December on the charge of circulating indecent photos, in violation of the same article that prohibits the distribution, sale, and display of indecent prose, drawings and other pornographic works.
她去年十二月被控告散播猥褻照片，違反這一個禁止散播、販售、展示猥褻圖文與其他色情作品的條文。
The indictment was brought after some educators and women’s groups accused the university professor of abusing academic freedom by posting the controversial photos on her academic Web site. The accusations sparked a debate over the fine line between pornography and academic research.
部份教育與女性團體控告何春蕤教授在其學術網站上張貼爭議性的照片，是學術自由的濫用。這項指控也燃起了色情與學術研究之間定位的辯論。
Ho was director of the Sex-Pol Center at the time. She asserted that because intercourse between human beings and animals in fact exists, it is therefore worth researching.
何春蕤當時是中央大學「性／別研究室」的主任。她強調，由於人獸交真的存在，所以值得做學術研究。