In one of his first public appearances since stepping down from office, former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday was attacked by a retired military veteran who poured red ink down his neck and back.
The ink covered Lee's neck, clothes and even part of his face, but he was not physically hurt by the 70-year-old retired lieutenant colonel and military prosecutor, Shih Li-hsing (
In a written statement, Shih blamed Lee for raising tensions between ethnic groups in Taiwan and for failing the KMT during his 12 years as head of the party and president.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"I am the first one, who will be followed by many other people, to force Lee to apologize," Shih said in his statement.
Ironically, Lee was attending a Tahsi Township (
Lee was taken aback by the incident and stood stiff and upright as the ink dripped down his neck and white jacket. After Shih had poured most of the ink onto Lee's neck, Lee's bodyguard's wrestled Shih under control and ushered him away.
Lee was rushed to a room where he cleaned up and when he emerged he showed no signs of being angry. As he left, Lee waved to onlookers and said, "It was nothing."
The incident sparked wide reaction, one of the first of which was from President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) who called Lee afterwards and apologized publicly for the government's careless protection of the former president.
"It is intolerable behavior for any person," Chen said. "People of our country should give trust and basic respect to each other, especially to our esteemed former President Lee," he added.
Chen stressed that the government should immediately review all protection measures for former leaders.
Meanwhile, National Security Bureau officials said that Lee's bodyguards will be punished immediately because the incident could be regarded as a "grave military mistake."
"The President has been successfully assassinated," said a chief official with the Special Task Force center.
Current law does not specifically define the total number of bodyguards provided for a former president.
While the National Security Bureau has assigned some 60 to 80 bodyguards to protect the incumbant, Lee requested some 27 to 30 bodyguards to protect him in retirement.
The Presidential Office also published an announcement appealing to the public to tolerate differences in opinion.
"To respect the former president is to maintain national security, as well as national dignity," said secretary-general of the Presidential Office, Chang Chun-hsiung (
Major political parties, including the KMT and the DPP, severely condemned the incident and appealed to people to respect the human rights of free speech and personal security.
"Any member of the KMT involved with any kind of irrational behavior will be punished by the party," said the secretary-general of the KMT Lin Feng-cheng (林豐正).
"Former President Lee's security measures should be improved immediately," said DPP Kao-hsiung Headquarters director Hsu Jen-tu (
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