As soon as the announcement was made that the March 19, 2004 assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) would not lead to a trial and verdict, some reporters and legislators began express opinions over what the investigation should or should not have done. If it really was that easy to handle the investigation, then wouldn't that mean that all the holders of masters and doctoral degrees who have examined physical evidence at the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) for decades are really quite stupid?
When we reconstructed the scene of the shooting in Tainan, we fully respected and followed every idea and instruction from US forensics expert Henry Lee (李昌鈺).
One incident, however, left a deep impression on us. A dispute arose between CIB Commissioner Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and Lee over the position of Lu's leg wound -- a small displacement of the wound led to a huge difference in the reconstruction of the bullet's path. Lee lost his temper over the incident, and the atmosphere was so thick that everyone was tense.
Afterward, Hou suggested calling Lu to clarify the wound's position, and Lee accepted the correction about the location of the wound. He can be persistent, but he also knows when to move forward or step back. There was no personal animosity involved in the dispute, only a search for the truth.
If the general public sees the bureau as a tool of the government, its investigations will be influenced by the authorities, and the willingness to trust CIB reports will suffer. We understand this, and we can live with it. Besides, why would Lee fly in from the US to help the government fabricate a lie?
If Lee had been able to find the smallest fabrication in this investigation and had then used scientific proof to overturn the government's findings, he would have been remembered for generations to come.
Wasn't he ruthless in announcing that former US president Bill Clinton's semen was found on Monica Lewinski's dress? A US president was exposed by Lee, a US citizen. Would Lee really fear Chen? Two words will suffice to explain why he chose the thorny road: "the truth."
Let's take the opposite view for a moment. Hypothesize that forensic scientists were to reveal that the shooting was fabricated. We'd go down in history, swimming in glory.
Should it appear that the shooting was not fabricated, however, we are instead met with questions and unreasonable criticism from every quarter. It is easy to see which result would be preferable. Once again, two words will suffice to explain why we have chosen the thorny road: "the truth."
Criminal forensics is built on scientific principles, and it must hold up to repeated testing. Regardless of who does a test and how many times it is repeated, the result will be the same.
The results announced by Lee were the same as the CIB's, but those who don't want to believe the results continue to disbelieve. I really do not understand how Taiwan could come to this impasse.
The people most humbled by the death of the alleged shooter, Chen Yi-hsiung (陳義雄), were the members of the special investigation team -- one more step and we could have delivered the truth.
If we were to examine the shooting investigation based on the same standards as other major investigations, the truth would be considered to have been exposed long ago.
Justice lives in the heart of man. Time will bring justice to the CIB and it will lay the truth bare.
Chien Meng-hui is a forensic science officer with the Central Investigation Bureau.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.