Just one day after Vice President Lien Chan (
During a meeting of the Finance Committee yesterday to examine the National Security Foundation Act, Chien Shih-chieh, a DPP lawmaker, was set upon by KMT lawmaker Lin Ming-yi (
Initially, Chien and Lin were merely engaged in verbal sparring over these accusations, after which many lawmakers left the room. Chien then requested the chairman call for order. It was at this moment that Lin approached Chien and accused him of disrupting the meeting. Lin then grabbed Chien by the neck and the two wrestled amid efforts by other lawmakers to separate them. Lo also joined in the melee.
PHOTO:YEH JEN-HAO, LIBERTY TIMES
After the groups had been separated, Lin and Lo demanded that Chien apologize for what they said were his groundless accusations against them.
When Chien left the room, Lin and Lo pursued him. The incident up to this point had been recorded live by TV cameras and broadcast nationwide.
What the cameras did not show, however, was what occurred after the three left the conference room. According to Chien, Lin punched him on the chin. Both Lin and Lo deny this.
Yesterday's violence follows a series of news conferences and public hearings held by Chien in which he has accused several lawmakers of being members of what he describes as the "grey faction" -- that is, that they stand somewhere between "white" corrupt officials and "black" gangsters, and who have tried to manipulate politics in the Legislative Yuan by using intimidation tactics to push through revisions of laws for the benefit of the KMT.
Chien accused both Lin and Lo of being members of this "grey faction" and of having engaged in illegal land speculation and in pushing through the so-called "Gambling Article," which passed during the last legislative session.
After the fight in the Legislative Yuan, Lo stressed that Chien had no evidence to prove his accusations. He said that Chien had only sought to discredit them to benefit his own political career.
"Chien was just talking too freely and has lied to the public. We cannot accept his insults," Lo said.
In the light of Vice President Lien Chan's promises to end gangster involvement in politics, the DPP's legislative caucus immediately condemned the KMT, saying it is "two faced," pledging to reform Taiwan's politics on the one hand while conniving with party members to use violence in the legislature as an intimidatory tactic.
"The formal declaration of war against money politics and gang-sters by Lien Chan on Sunday was merely `bullshit' (放屁)," said Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), a DPP caucus leader.
"The KMT has vowed to eliminate gangsters, but on the other hand it allows members of the legislature to use force publicly on the floor of the Legislative Yuan," he added.
Chien said that what Lin and Lo did to him was evidence enough to prove they were members of the "grey faction."
"Lin's punches would have been even heavier if he had not been restrained," Chien said.
DPP lawmaker Michael Tsai (
During recent years, DPP lawmakers have asserted that certain KMT lawmakers have used violence against members of their party. They claim legislator Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) was punched by Lin during a speech in the legislature and that Lai Chin-lin (賴勁麟) had been kicked by the KMT's Allen Tseng (曾振農) last year in another highly-publicized incident.
See Also:
Editorial
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS