A press conference at the legislature yesterday on behalf of bakeries that have suffered losses in the wake of the melamine food scare turned into a clash between blue and green lawmakers, ending with the health minister checking into a hospital.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers accused each other of grabbing Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川), minister of the Department of Health, by the neck and throttling him.
KMT Legislator Chang Shuo-wen (張碩文), who was with Yeh when the scuffle erupted, said DPP lawmakers tried to prevent Yeh from leaving the legislative floor after a meeting with bakery owners and lawmakers over the government’s response to the public health scare caused by melamine-contaminated food imported from China.
PHOTO: CNA
Chang accused DPP caucus whip Pan Men-an (潘孟安) and DPP Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清) of starting the scuffle.
“I went up there to protect Yeh. Although I didn’t see anyone throwing a punch, I was sorry about the chaos and felt uncomfortable because DPP lawmakers were also pulling at my tie,” Chang said.
BREATHING PROBLEM
“We condemn the DPP ... Someone grabbed the minister by the neck and he could hardly breathe,” he said.
KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) also demanded that DPP lawmakers apologize for intruding into the press conference hosted by KMT lawmakers.
The DPP caucus denied its lawmakers grabbed Yeh by the neck.
Pan said he was just trying to ask Yeh why he declined to attend the caucus’ meeting yesterday morning to give a briefing on the melamine controversy.
Pan said that Lin’s wife, Peng Ai-chia (彭愛佳), a reporter with China Television Co, was to blame for the clash because she began yelling: “Why hit people? How could you hit people?”
“I didn’t hit anybody. KMT Legislator Chang Sho-wen put his hands on Yeh’s neck and DOH official Luo Mu-tsai (羅木才) grabbed Yeh’s hands,” Pan said.
Yeh, who assumed the post of health minister, was suffering from dizziness, cardiopalmus and high blood pressure when he arrived at the National Taiwan University Hospital, hospital spokesman Tan Ching-Ting (譚慶鼎) said, adding that Yeh’s blood pressure rose to 160/100mmHg.
Doctors recommended that Yeh stay in the hospital for further observation, Tan said.
“We condemn any form of violence. The public would not want to see this kind of behavior in the legislature,” Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) told reporters after visiting Yeh at the hospital.
The Citizen Congress Watch (CCW) staged a protest outside the legislature yesterday afternoon, accusing the lawmakers of behaving inappropriately.
CCW executive director Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) said that some lawmakers “have used vulgar language in questioning officials” earlier and “even engaged in a physical clash” yesterday.
He said this type of behavior reflects badly on the legislature and shows that the “legislature still has a long way to go before becoming ‘civilized.’”
Ho said he believed those who clashed yesterday “have their reasons for doing so, but whatever those reasons may be, differences in opinion should be resolved through talk and debate, not violence.”
“No one benefits from violence — the lawmakers wouldn’t get the conflict settled and the public wouldn’t know what they were fighting over either,” he said.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said yesterday that Yeh had repeatedly ignored the caucus’ invitation to brief them on the food contamination scandal.
“We invited him sometime last week, but he never replied or visited us although he came to the legislature several times,” Ker said. “He is way too arrogant.”
Yeh was sworn in as health minister after Lin Fang-yue (林芳郁) resigned to take responsibility for the government’s inconsistent response to the crisis over melamine-spiked dairy products from China.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JIMMY CHUANG, LOA IOK-SIN AND SHELLEY HUANG
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
RSS