ZAGREB, Croatia: Billboards featuring Melania Trump and the slogan “just imagine how far you can go with a little bit of English” were removed Tuesday from the Croatian capital after her lawyer threatened a lawsuit.
The billboards were part of a marketing campaign by a private English language school in Zagreb, which tried to persuade Croats to learn English by reminding them of the Slovenian-born US first lady’s personal experience.
But Mrs. Trump did not accept what was apparently meant to be a joke about her English, spoken with a heavy accent. Her Slovenian lawyer demanded that the billboards, showing Melania Trump delivering a speech standing before a fluttering American flag, be immediately removed.
“I’m satisfied with the fact that the school admitted that they violated the law and that they are ready to remove the billboards and (Facebook) ads,” lawyer Natasa Pirc-Musar told The Associated Press. “We are still analyzing possible further legal steps.”
Melania Trump has hired the law firm to protect her image, which has appeared on various products in her native Slovenia, including cakes, underwear and tourism advertisements.
Pirc-Musar said that the Croatian school has apologized for the billboards, but that the statement also needs to be published by the Croatian and Slovenian state news agencies.
“We are very sorry that the billboards were misunderstood as something intended to mock the US first lady,” Ivis Buric, a spokeswoman for the school, American Institute, said. “It was meant to be something positive, to show her as a role model.”
Buric admitted that the short advertising campaign turned out to be “very successful” because of the wide publicity it received both locally and internationally. She said that the school intends to put up new billboards, this time without Melania Trump’s image.
Melania Trump was born in neighboring Slovenia as Melanija Knavs. She left Slovenia in her 20s to pursue an international modeling career before meeting Donald Trump at a Fashion Week party in New York in 1998.
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Melania Trump threatens lawsuit over English class billboard in Croatia
Melania Trump threatens lawsuit over English class billboard in Croatia
Taiwanese reporter accused of bribing military officers to leak information to China
- District court orders detention of television reporter surnamed Lin and five current and retired military officers
TAIPEI: A journalist in Taiwan was detained Saturday on allegations of bribing army officers to provide military information to people from mainland China, as the self-ruled island cracks down on potential infiltration from China.
Taiwan’s Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office said in a statement that a district court ordered the detention of a television reporter surnamed Lin and five current and retired military officers. The statement didn’t identify the journalist, but CTi TV issued a statement about the detention of its reporter Lin Chen-you.
The company said that it does not know the details of the case, but called for a fair judicial process, adding “God bless Taiwan.”
While Taiwan regularly pursues espionage cases within the government and military, allegations against journalists are unusual.
Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and threatens to take control of the island by force if necessary, has been increasing military pressure against the island. Last month, China’s military launched large-scale drills around it for two days after a Washington announcement of large-scale arms sales to Taiwan.
Prosecutors accuse Lin of paying amounts ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of Taiwan dollars (tens to hundreds of US dollars) to current military officers in exchange for their providing information to “Chinese individuals.” The office didn’t specify who the Chinese people were or whether they were linked to the Chinese government.
Authorities raided the premises of the reporter and nine current and retired military personnel on Friday as part of an investigation into violations of Taiwan’s national security and corruption laws and disclosure of confidential information. CTi said that its offices were not raided.
According to Lin’s Facebook page, he was a political reporter and anchor covering the island’s legislature.
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when the Communist Party rose to power in Beijing following a civil war. Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan, which later transitioned from martial law to multiparty democracy.
Taiwan’s Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office said in a statement that a district court ordered the detention of a television reporter surnamed Lin and five current and retired military officers. The statement didn’t identify the journalist, but CTi TV issued a statement about the detention of its reporter Lin Chen-you.
The company said that it does not know the details of the case, but called for a fair judicial process, adding “God bless Taiwan.”
While Taiwan regularly pursues espionage cases within the government and military, allegations against journalists are unusual.
Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and threatens to take control of the island by force if necessary, has been increasing military pressure against the island. Last month, China’s military launched large-scale drills around it for two days after a Washington announcement of large-scale arms sales to Taiwan.
Prosecutors accuse Lin of paying amounts ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of Taiwan dollars (tens to hundreds of US dollars) to current military officers in exchange for their providing information to “Chinese individuals.” The office didn’t specify who the Chinese people were or whether they were linked to the Chinese government.
Authorities raided the premises of the reporter and nine current and retired military personnel on Friday as part of an investigation into violations of Taiwan’s national security and corruption laws and disclosure of confidential information. CTi said that its offices were not raided.
According to Lin’s Facebook page, he was a political reporter and anchor covering the island’s legislature.
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when the Communist Party rose to power in Beijing following a civil war. Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan, which later transitioned from martial law to multiparty democracy.
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