A 60-year-old resident of Dapu Borough (大埔), Miaoli County, whose house was forcibly torn down by the Miaoli County Government in July, was found dead in an irrigation channel near his former home yesterday in the latest in a series of incidents that have drawn attention to the county in recent months.
With family and friends in tears, the body of Chang Sen-wen (張森文) was lifted out of the water by rescuers yesterday afternoon.
“Who killed you? Tell me who killed you?” Chang’s wife, Peng Hsiu-chun (彭秀春), cried out when she saw her husband’s body, while their son, Chang Yuan-hao (張元豪) stood to the side, repeatedly calling out for his father.
Photo: Peng Chien-li, Taipei Times
“I was quite worried when I woke up in the morning and did not see my dad, because he would usually come back home at about 6am — no later than 7am — from his morning walk,” Chang Yuan-hao told reporters in the morning before his father’s body was discovered.
“It was a bit weird, because he had left his wallet and cellphone at home,” he added.
After receiving a telephone call from Chang Yuan-hao at about 10am, the local police station checked surveillance camera footage of the area where the Changs now live, and saw Chang Sen-wen walking southward by himself at about 2:30am.
Photo: Peng Chien-li, Taipei
Searching along the road, the police found his body in an irrigation channel, about 200m from where his demolished house once stood.
Speaking on Chang Sen-wen’s death when asked by the media at a separate setting, Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) — who ordered the demolition of the Changs’ house and pharmacy on July 18 — said he was mourning, though only after being reminded of the tragedy by journalists.
“For the, uh, I should say, accident, that happened to Mr Chang, I would say, uh, I would lament it, I would lament it,” Liu said. “As maybe I should say, I mourn his death, I mourn his death, yes, that’s a better term, I mourn his death.”
Despite being rebuffed by the Changs when he asked to visit them, Liu insisted on going to their house to pay his respects to the deceased, leading to clashes between police officers escorting him and supporters of the Changs.
Chanting “Liu the killer,” the crowd pushed Liu and the police out of the house, throwing bottles and shoes at him before slamming the door shut.
Liu left after getting hit by a shoe.
At press time, the police and the prosecutor were still investigating the cause of Chang Sen-wen’s death.
However, netizens and supporters of the Changs have blamed Liu for his death.
Huang Fu-ji (黃福記), a former resident of one of the four homes demolished in July, told reporters that Liu should receive the death penalty and be gunned down.
Chang Sen-wen had been mentally and physically on the edge of collapse since before the forced demolition on July 18.
Two other Dapu residents had committed suicide earlier in protest against the demolitions to make way for a science park.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
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