One day after the election-eve shooting that left Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Committee member Sean Lien (連勝文) injured and an innocent bystander dead at a Nov. 26 KMT campaign rally, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) branded it an assault on the nation’s democracy and instructed government agencies to exert themselves to crack the case in a timely fashion.
Nearly two weeks have passed since the shooting in Yonghe (永和), Taipei County, and although a suspect was caught with a weapon at the scene, the case remains largely a puzzle. From political conspiracy theories to claims that Lien was shot “by mistake,” the multitude of conflicting accounts from parties involved have led to public confusion and a growing mistrust in law enforcement authorities.
Indeed, given the ramifications of the shooting incident, which took place on the eve of tense special municipality elections and involved a son of a former vice president, one would think law enforcement agencies would have handled the case very carefully. However, the judiciary’s initial laxness — evidenced by the fact that a potential key witness was able to go on a trip to Shanghai after the shooting — was dumbfounding, and the prosecutors’ refusal to make public video shot at the crime scene has further fueled public skepticism.
Citing a gag order, prosecutors have refused to release the video footage, saying that doing so could lead potential witnesses to collaborate on their accounts and compromise the investigation. The prosecutors’ concern is valid, but in view of mounting public suspicion over the authenticity of the shooting, Lien’s wounds and their severity, couldn’t the prosecutors find an alternative — such as showing the video to members of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee — to quell public disbelief? Instead, we saw National Police Agency Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) appearing rather light-hearted as he attempted to explain the shooting to lawmakers on Monday by having a judicial official act as his model as he demonstrated how the shooting occurred.
Given such a high-profile case, the public has the right to be kept abreast of every development in the investigation — and ultimately the truth behind the shooting. Even Lien himself, who has since been recovering steadily and checked out of the hospital on Sunday night, has urged prosecutors to make the tape public to shed light on questions about the shooting.
Many vividly recalled how Ma, shortly after he assumed the presidency in May 2008, pledged to reopen the probe into the March 19, 2004, shooting of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮). Almost three years into his presidency, Ma’s promise remains unfulfilled, while a growing sense of cynicism spreads among the public given the murky details surrounding the 319 shooting.
For the sake of salvaging the Ma government’s credibility, as well as saving the public from its deepening distrust of the law, the authorities should tackle the Lien shooting with due vigilance and swiftness, and do what they are paid to do — let justice be served and expose the truth.
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
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.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, people have been asking if Taiwan is the next Ukraine. At a G7 meeting of national leaders in January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned that Taiwan “could be the next Ukraine” if Chinese aggression is not checked. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that if Russia is not defeated, then “today, it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it can be Taiwan.” China does not like this rhetoric. Its diplomats ask people to stop saying “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow.” However, the rhetoric and stated ambition of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Taiwan shows strong parallels with