Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Chu Hsing-yu (朱星羽) was found dead in a motel bathroom in Greater Kaohsiung yesterday.
Chu’s body was found at about 8am yesterday. The initial cause of death has been determined as a heart attack, although a bottle of Kaoliang liquor and sleeping pills were found in his room, police said.
Long considered one of the party’s most representative grassroots figures, Chu represented the DPP in Greater Kaohsiung for more than 10 years and was known for his poignant manner of directing questions at the Legislative Yuan.
Photo: CNA
He was also known for his boisterous behavior at the legislature.
Chu found himself in hot water over a fistfight with DPP member Lin Chung-mo (林重謨) in November 2003. Chu flew into a rage after Lin said that legislators were selfish and shameless.
The fight followed another scene at the legislature in which Chu threw his chair at the podium to protest the postponement of legislative confirmation of a trade agreement with Panama.
The incidents prompted the DPP to seek disciplinary action against Chu.
He declared he was leaving the party in 2003, after the party caucus blocked a motion that he had spearheaded. After leaving the DPP, Chu joined the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union, but did not bid for a legislative seat and chose to leave politics.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
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
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
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