Peng Wan-ru's (
Unfortunately, blood and fingerprint tests which came back later in the day forced police to rule out the possibility that the dead man was indeed responsible for Peng's murder.
Peng, then the director of the DPP's women's affairs department, disappeared after getting into a taxi to attend a meeting the night before a DPP party convention in Kaohsiung on Nov. 30, 1996. Her body was found three days later outside an abandoned warehouse in Kaohsiung, naked and with more than 30 stab wounds. According to reports, she had been raped.
Police have never given up hope of catching her killer, which they still to this day believe was the taxi driver that picked Peng up that fateful night. Their investigation, however, has seen little progress in the past three years, resulting in scathing public criticism against perceived inefficiency. Several suspects in police custody have confessed to Peng's murder. All were dismissed after police found testimony or evidence inconsistent with the facts of the murder.
Yesterday morning, around 6am, investigators thought they had made a breakthrough after police reported finding the body of a man who had apparently asphyxiated himself inside his taxi in Taipei County's Shihting (
A plastic tube from the car's exhaust pipe was running into the cab, where Chen Tsai-fu (
"Please forgive me," the note added. "Dear wife -- I'm sorry, please bury my body."
After discovering the note, a joint task force was formed by police units from Kaohsiung and Taipei to look into the link with Peng's death. However, it was confirmed later in the day that results of tests on Chen's blood and fingerprints did not match those left by Peng's killer at the scene of the murder.
Police have not completely ruled out a link between Chen and the Peng murder and investigations are continuing.
Peng's 1996 murder came at a sensitive time for the government, as it took place soon after another high-profile killing -- the Nov. 21 assassination of former Taoyuan County Commissioner Liu Pang-yu (
Peng's murder also pushed on to the front burner of public opinion a number of stalled bills in the legislature relating to women's safety, which have since been passed. Her husband, Hung Wan-sheng (
Peng, who had been dedicated to women's issues and vigorously advocated women's political participation, had gone to Kaohsiung on Nov. 30 to persuade DPP representatives to adopt a party platform that would ensure it reserves a quarter of its candidates' slots in popular elections for women.
Peng's husband expressed his disappointment, saying there seemed to be little hope left. "Now we can only rely on God. If the killer is ever arrested, it will be thanks to God's mercy," Hung said.
"I've never given up hope that the case would be solved some day. But I've also come to terms with the reality that it is not something we can force," he said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source