The perpetrators of eight bomb attacks were called "terrorists" by police yesterday after they sent threatening letters to the Executive Yuan, Council of Agriculture and a local newspaper on Friday night.
The group known as the "rice bombers" admitted responsibility for a bomb attack on a train from Keelung to Chunan last Monday as well as seven attacks in Taipei City since Oct. 27 last year.
In their letters the bombers claimed the aim of the campaign was to force the government to stop importing rice and protect local rice farmers.
To convince the police of the genuineness of their letters, the "rice bombers" also appended some explosive powder and, as usual, left behind a small packet of rice along with the explosives.
Until yesterday police had thought the bomb attacks the work of a single individual; now they believe them to be the work of a group.
The police said that they were trying to trace from where the letters had been sent as well as testing the letters for fingerprints.
"This case is totally different than the bomb threats toward nine high-profile buildings the other day. That guy was a psycho," said Sandy Yeh (葉毓蘭), who is the director of the Continuing Education and Training Center of the Central Police University.
"These `rice bombers,' however, are definitely demanding something though their behavior could be regarded as terrorism," he said.
Yeh was referring to a 45-year-old Chu Tsung-yun (
Chu was arrested at his Nankang home within 24 hours but he told the police that "his brain waves were controlled by government agents so he could not control his behavior at times."
On the other hand, the "rice bombers" have made real bombs and have placed them in public places.
The bombing spree began in Ta-an Forest Park on Oct. 27 and continued on Nov. 13, when a bomb was found in one of the park's men's rest rooms.
On Nov. 22, another bomb was discovered in front of the Ministry of Finance's Financial Data Center.
On Dec. 2, a fourth bomb was discovered in the Kuting MRT station and on Dec. 10 and Dec. 23, a further two bombs appeared at Taipei's Hsinsheng Park and Yucheng Park.
All of these bombs were successfully disarmed by the police and caused no injuries.
"[The rice bombers'] behavior fits the description of terrorism quite well," said Yeh. "Terrorists are always a small group of people and they always try to damage some important sites and hope that by such means their voices will be heard."
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique