Applying Occam’s razor
Can anyone explain what really happened at the prison where six inmates mysteriously all agreed to commit group suicide after seizing arms from an apparently lax prison staff?
And what is it with the gangster Little Red Riding Hood showing up there with all his so-called supporters? If that does not make readers ask themselves: “Wait, what?” then they are not reading the news with enough critical thinking.
This whole affair reeks of some kind of false-flag-meets-media stunt. Given the facts I have read, I cannot believe that someone is trying to run this scam for profit, so cui bono, who benefits?
This has “WTF” written all over it, and I hope that the “competent” authorities, such as they are, will complete a full investigation.
As an avid reader, I would also like to find out why the warden and guards were apparently so chummy with the inmates, many of whom appear to have committed serious crimes.
Also, how can so many news crews and cameramen show up simultaneously at the site? Did they parachute in out of news helicopters?
Clearly, many people knew about this before it happened.
In other words, lots of things do not make sense here, and I for one want further investigation and proper supervision from the Fourth Estate via the great Taipei Times and Liberty Times in Mandarin (more commonly referred to as Chinese, wink).
As a Pastafarian, I condemn any death of sentient beings for immoral reasons, such as whale hunting for “science.” Look at all the whales beaching themselves. When it comes to deciding the time of your death, well, that should be up to you.
The Flying Spaghetti Monster has infinite capacity to extend its noodly appendages toward everyone who feels trapped in an impossible situation. When a sentient counterpart here on Earth breaks one of those appendages, the Flying Spaghetti Monster sheds no tears.
In Taiwan, bizarre incidents, such as dashboard camera videos, kids beating an elderly man with scooter helmets walking free and increasing stories of gun-related violence are not good news, both in the literal and figurative sense.
It is sad and regrettable that these young “lifers” may have died by their own hand because they never responded to the touch of the Pastafarian, which by nature espouses the “be awesome to everyone” mindset of proper peaceful daily life.
It is also possible that others contributed to the inmates’ deaths in some way. How often do we read about a banker or whistle-blower who shoots themselves to death in the bathtub? And a nail-gun accident? Come on.
The story behind the Kaohsiung Prison incident is an onion. Journalists, please take time to peel it using Occam’s razor.
Torch Pratt
Yonghe, New Taipei City
Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) led a bipartisan delegation to Taiwan in late February. During their various meetings with Taiwan’s leaders, this delegation never missed an opportunity to emphasize the strength of their cross-party consensus on issues relating to Taiwan and China. Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi are leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Their instruction upon taking the reins of the committee was to preserve China issues as a last bastion of bipartisanship in an otherwise deeply divided Washington. They have largely upheld their pledge. But in doing so, they have performed the
It is well known that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) ambition is to rejuvenate the Chinese nation by unification of Taiwan, either peacefully or by force. The peaceful option has virtually gone out of the window with the last presidential elections in Taiwan. Taiwanese, especially the youth, are resolved not to be part of China. With time, this resolve has grown politically stronger. It leaves China with reunification by force as the default option. Everyone tells me how and when mighty China would invade and overpower tiny Taiwan. However, I have rarely been told that Taiwan could be defended to
It should have been Maestro’s night. It is hard to envision a film more Oscar-friendly than Bradley Cooper’s exploration of the life and loves of famed conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein. It was a prestige biopic, a longtime route to acting trophies and more (see Darkest Hour, Lincoln, and Milk). The film was a music biopic, a subgenre with an even richer history of award-winning films such as Ray, Walk the Line and Bohemian Rhapsody. What is more, it was the passion project of cowriter, producer, director and actor Bradley Cooper. That is the kind of multitasking -for-his-art overachievement that Oscar
Chinese villages are being built in the disputed zone between Bhutan and China. Last month, Chinese settlers, holding photographs of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), moved into their new homes on land that was not Xi’s to give. These residents are part of the Chinese government’s resettlement program, relocating Tibetan families into the territory China claims. China shares land borders with 15 countries and sea borders with eight, and is involved in many disputes. Land disputes include the ones with Bhutan (Doklam plateau), India (Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin) and Nepal (near Dolakha and Solukhumbu districts). Maritime disputes in the South China