Protesters against China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) yesterday said that police and “gangster-like people” tried to clear the way for Zhang’s planned arrival at Lukang Tianhou Temple in Changhua County by setting off firecrackers, using violence and ordering customers to leave nearby eateries.
Zhang was scheduled to attend a ceremony to install a statue of Matsu from a temple in Kunshan in China’s Jiangsu Province, which he promised last year to give to Changhua’s Tianhou Temple as a gift to Taiwan. The ceremony was canceled at the last minute.
The square in front of the temple and the nearby streets, which are a popular tourist destination, were packed at about noon with tourists, as well as protesters against Zhang.
Photo: Chang Jui-chen, Taipei Times
People were asked by police officers to stay at a distance from the temple to allow clear passage for Zhang, who was scheduled to arrive at 1:50pm.
With a bloody face, a wound on his forehead and blood-stained clothing, Liang Po-chou (梁伯洲) told reporters at the square in front of the temple that he was assaulted by five or six people using steel blowpipes.
Liang said he was there with his father, Changhua County Councilor Liang Chen-hsiang (梁禎祥) of the Democratic Progressive Party, and other people trying to show Zhang posters with slogans against the cross-strait service trade agreement and slogans that the future of Taiwan is a matter for 23 million Taiwanese people to decide.
Photo: Chang Tsung-chiu, Taipei Times
The “gangster-like people” began beating him when he was trying to argue with executive officers of the temple because he was angry that they asked staff to set off firecrackers on the streets in an attempt to disperse people who refused to leave, Liang said.
Reporters were notified at about 1:30pm that Zhang’s trip to the temple was canceled.
It followed the cancelation of two other stops scheduled earlier yesterday — a meeting with fishermen at Chienchen Fishing Port in Greater Kaohsiung and a visit to the Wufeng Lin Family Gardens (霧峰林家花園) in Greater Taichung, announced at 2:24am yesterday.
According to a source at the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the council had a midnight meeting with Zhang after his informal gathering with MAC Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) on Friday at the Sizihwan Sunset Beach Resort, where he was nearly splashed with paint by protesters, and decided to cancel the first two of yesterday’s activities.
Zhang visited the Hui-ming Elementary School for the Blind in Greater Taichung at noon, where he had a chat with Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), his only official meeting yesterday, before he headed to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
During his stay in Taiwan, men with gang tattoos wearing black were seen on many occasions — when he arrived at Taoyuan airport on Wednesday and visited New Taipei City, Greater Taichung and Greater Kaohsiung. They appeared in groups holding banners and chanting slogans to welcome him before his arrival at events.
Yesterday, outside the Hui-ming Elementary School for the Blind several dozen black-clad men gathered who said that they belonged to a cross-strait pigeon-lovers’ association.
They were called to move to Lukang Tianhou Temple after Zhang’s arrival at the school.
Zhang delivered a short speech at the school.
He said he made a wish when he was at Fo Guang Shan Monastery (佛光山) on Friday and that he hoped that both sides of the Strait can resolve long-term issues gradually with “wisdom and familial affection and jointly make contribution to revival of the [Zhonghua] Minzu [中華民族; Chinese ethnic group].”
EIGHT-YEAR WINDOW: Avril Haines said that Beijing is closely watching the Russian invasion of Ukraine, although Moscow’s actions have not sped up Beijing’s timeline The threat posed by China to Taiwan until 2030 is “critical,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said on Tuesday while testifying on worldwide threats at a hearing of the US Senate Committee on Armed Services. “I think it’s fair to say that it’s critical, or acute,” Haines said when asked by US Senator Josh Hawley if she viewed the threat facing Taiwan to be acute from now until 2030. “It’s our view that they [China] are working hard to effectively put themselves into a position in which their military is capable of taking Taiwan over our intervention,” she said, without
NO CONSENSUS YET: Local governments and the CECC have agreed to change the ‘3+4’ self-isolation policy, but are still mulling what to replace it with The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) and local governments have agreed to ease restrictions on close contacts of COVID-19 cases, although the details are still being discussed, the center said yesterday. The discussions follow Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Saturday approving a proposal to shorten the “3+4” policy — three days of home isolation followed by four days of self-disease prevention — for close contacts who have received booster doses. “We did not reach a consensus on how to revise the current restrictions, but we all agreed that the administrative burden must be reduced and the intensity of restrictions must be eased,
OPPOSING CHINESE ‘HOSTILITY’: The bill orders the state secretary to create a plan to regain observer status for Taiwan, saying Taipei is a model contributor to world health US President Joe Biden on Friday signed a bill into law to help Taiwan regain observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA), demonstrating Washington’s support for Taiwan’s international participation. Friday was the deadline for Biden to sign the bill (S.812), which directs “the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to regain observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Organization (WHO), and for other purposes.” The 75th WHA, the decisionmaking body of the WHO, is scheduled to meet in Geneva, Switzerland, from Sunday next week to May 28. The bill, introduced by US Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the US Senate
‘DAMOCLES SWORD’: An Italian missionary said the arrest of cardinal Zen is a blow for the church in Hong Kong, China and the world, signaling great danger ahead China yesterday defended the arrest of a 90-year-old Catholic cardinal under Hong Kong’s National Security Law, a move that triggered international outrage and deepened concerns over Beijing’s crackdown on freedoms in the territory. Retired cardinal Joseph Zen (陳日君), one of the most senior Catholic clerics in Asia, was among a group of veteran democracy advocates arrested on Wednesday for “colluding with foreign forces.” Pop singer Denise Ho (何韻詩), veteran barrister Margaret Ng (吳靄儀) and cultural studies academic Hui Po-keung (許寶強) were also arrested, the latter as he attempted to fly to Europe to take up an academic post. Cyd Ho (何秀蘭), a democracy