Defamation Lawsuit Squashed by Chinese Court

BEFORE

AFTER

Several years after its filing, our defamation lawsuit against Phoenix TV was squashed by the Chinese Court in Beijing.  The Court essentially refused to litigate whether Phoenix TV was right or wrong in allowing Moon Lee to tell obvious lies on television.  They dodged the issue as expected because it is common place for Chinese courts to protect everything Chinese!  I was an outsider, and Phoenix TV is a Chinese-authorized media outlet.

But my original purpose was satisfied.  I never sued for monetary damaged; only asked for an apology.  Even without getting one that I did not really expect, the suit served to keep alive the narrative of Moon Lee’s idiotic sex scandal.  

In many ways, my wife and I feel no sadness or pleasure running into matters related to Moon Lee.  She did the craziest thing, but it could not have led to a much better result for me.  We do not have to make efforts to “make her pay”; there is no need for any sort of revenge.  She cannot possibly be doing well (at least compared to us), and it is all her own doing.  Neither of us can or should look back.  

The Moon Lee story should set a meaningful example of how one should be clear-headed about love and romance.  There are far too many traps and temptations that can send one to a living hell without means to return.  Buyers beware!  

Drowned in a pig’s cage for a wife’s extramarital sex offense

If it had occurred over a hundred years ago in China, Moon Lee could have been drowned in a pig’s cage as punishment for her mindless affair.  A graphic artist employee of mine made this image up for me as a joking gift years ago --- depicting Moon in a cage surrounded by water with the words “Drowning Phoenix in Cage” (Moon’s Chinese name includes the word for phoenix).  Everyone had a good laugh at Moon Lee’s expense.

Of course, Moon Lee was much luckier, having been born in 1965.  Instead of a fate involving a tortuous drowning, American society in the twenty-first century deals with divorce in a “No Fault” fashion.  As such, it does not matter how egregious the sexual misconduct was that lead to the divorce.  The terms of the divorce have no relationship to fault.  That is why it was comically stupid that some in the Chinese media actually believed Moon’s lies that I made up the story of her incestuous secret love affair with an unworthy kid barely old enough not to be a minor.  Of course, no self-deprecating lie was necessary.  My assets were well protected by carefully constructed Trusts so that they could not be accessed in any kind of a divorce.  That alone was the reason why Moon Lee got very little during that protracted divorce.  The reasons she still tried (albeit unsuccessful) made her even a bigger villain than her original sin.  That is the backbone to my truthful account of the real story of the divorce.  I had absolutely no reason to insult myself with a lie to get rid of this villainous woman.

Moon Lee undeserved celebrity status also gave her advantages --- she had a “megaphone” with reporters to tell lies, lies that would never have passed scrutiny if she were just a normal woman.  That was why years after the fact, she was given that one-sided interview by Phoenix TV --- an interview that Phoenix TV admitted in writing to the Court that they were not intentionally defaming me because they never had any intent to portray the truth.  Phoenix TV just wanted sensational gossip for viewership.  So that was a “relief”!

So in the Old World, a straying wife could be drowned in China.  In modern China, however, a deviant sexually promiscuous wife can be even glorified by the media and given opportunities to lie more about her victimized ex-husband.  

I wonder whether we are living in more enlightened times! 

Dennis Law MD 

Moon Lee Sex Scandal of 2006 – A very Chinese story with Chinese results

Only a Chinese sex scandal can have these very Chinese results!  They just love their movie screen idols and their gossip stories without end.

As great as life has been for my wife and me over the last ten years, we had long forgotten about the comically silly Moon Lee sex scandal that lead us to be where we were at.  We were enjoying the “good life”, knowing with certainty that Moon would be suffering from self-deprecation, forced isolation and denial.  It shocked me to learn that Phoenix TV, Hong Kong, through their Shanghai affiliate, offered her a two-hour interview with rapidly declining television journalist/personality, Ms. Lu Yu.

As expected, the TV interview allowed Moon Lee the unchallenged opportunity to lie about her divorce.  Everything Moon Lee said about me, her ex-husband, and my wife was false; we all knew she had a real need to deny the truth.  We expected as much and was not interested in joining in a debate in public about the matter.  We knew that most sensible people in the world knew the truth anyway because Moon’s version does not pass the “common sense” test.

However, a close friend who is also an excellent attorney persuaded me to file a suit against HK Phoenix TV because she felt that they had caused harm by defamation in accordance with China laws.  I had long realized that libel, slander and defamation charges are not possible between husband and wives according to US laws.  So the premise was not to sue Moon for public lying (because I did not believe that I could be damaged by her silly lies that only the dumb and dumber would believe) but rather to do something to create hardship for Phoenix TV for being so prejudicially one-sided in the re-telling of such a societal tale of passion gone wild.  So I agreed to spend some money and let the attorneys deal with the grief of suing a foreign media company doing business in China.

It took years to end up in Court that concluded recently.  As the plaintiff, we technically lost in the verdict because our two main demands were not supported by the judge --- admittedly, I believe to be the right verdict according to US law.  I asked Phoenix TV to pull the televised episodes so the public cannot see it and also asked for an apology.  Yet, the TV company and producers had long ago pulled the two TV episodes off the market already.  I did not get the apology because the judge correctly claimed that Phoenix TV had admitted in Court documents that their production was all for audience viewership and numbers rating and had not claimed any reliance on the truth.  They just published whatever the interviewee said just for viewership and controversy, and therefore owes no one an apology for not being factual.  All that I must totally agree with!  If the infamous program hosted by Ms. Lu Yu is nothing but admittedly a gossip presentation, then a new truth has been established.  That is all I can wish for!  Now I know and everyone in China should know too.

Here is my perpetual message for Moon Lee as she continues to live a life of pretense:
Thank you for your scandalous sexual misconduct that left you “in the dust” and led me to a new and gratifying life.  I was much less angered by your ridiculous sexual misconduct than in your unsuccessful and dishonest attempts to get rich quickly through divorce.  In loving you, I was fooled by your acting; in leaving you, I found out easily that you never had the substance and character to stick with a family that is highly-educated, financially secure and well respected.


Dennis Law MD



 

The late implications of the Moon Lee scandal so long ago

Much more than a decade has passed since Moon Lee’s idiotic sex scandal of her own doing.  Very little of those events crosses our minds now.  Yet occasionally, friends or relatives would bring to our attention certain things they hear or read about this “has-been” actress of Hong Kong films.

It seems that poor Moon Lee’s life is still focused on frequent attempts at self-advertising --- though for what good purpose is questionable.  On the freely accessible cyberspace, she keeps publicizing her daily activities or traveling experiences as if there is a useful teaching purpose behind them.

As for me, the early sting of her thoughtless sexual misadventure has given rise to a wholly new life with endless opportunities.  My wife now is a respected stalwart of the Law family, enjoying all the benefits of being part of a successful, financially secure and highly educated family.  My daughter is a talented computer science student at one of America’s most prestigious technology institutes.  As for me, retirement from surgery has given much time to enjoy our real estate business and develop a new and successful hospitality business that involves owning prestigious and luxurious vacation homes in the Baja peninsula of Mexico and a 14,000 acre ranch that boasts the most incredible scenery, a huge lodge that overhangs a magnificent river canyon and also unprecedented firearms and equestrian activities.

Tired of working under difficult governmental restraints in China, my prior interest in music, theater and dance has given rise to my charitable donations to give birth to the Law Institute of Arts & Technology and its associated annual Denny Awards for excellence in electronic music.  Since its inception, we have produced many theatrical concerts that utilize the newest digital technologies to provide entertainment content that is all immersive and comprehensively entertaining for all audiences.  The latest production is Ms. Butterfly and can be reviewed at www.MsButterflyDIFAT.com.

Canyon Madness Ranch

Villa Tanzanita de Law, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico