The National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday acknowledged lapses in the handling of security for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) after he was hit by a book thrown by a political activist a day earlier.
The bureau said security lapses have been found among its staff and military police officers, who were responsible for the safety of the president as he attended a reception for international franchise chains in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖).
The bureau said it would take punitive action against those responsible for the oversights, according to a statement it issued after an internal meeting on the incident.
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
Local media outlets reported that up to 10 people were being disciplined.
Although the bureau had gone over Friday’s security arrangements on site and possessed related intelligence, it still failed to prevent the protester from throwing the book, it said.
A group of NSB personnel who failed to protect the president have been replaced, the bureau said, adding that it would improve measures to ensure the president’s safety.
Photo: CNA
The bureau said that it respects the public’s right to peacefully express their opinions, but people must not break the law and resort to illegal acts.
When Ma arrived at a Denwell banquet venue on Friday for an event hosted by the International Franchise Association, several hundred people were at a fundraiser for the pro-independence Northern Taiwan Society downstairs.
The incident occurred as Ma was preparing to leave the building after the reception.
A group of reporters were waiting to ask him for his response to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) advocacy of a “one country, two systems” formula when a man in a black shirt threw a book from the media area.
Shouting: “Taiwan and China, one country on each side,” he hurled the book Formosa Betrayed, hitting Ma in the torso.
Several security agents immediately pinned a man later identified as Yen Ming-wei (顏銘緯) to the ground. Yen was heard continuing to yell: “Taiwan and China, one country on each side,” while being tackled.
Police asked him to leave the venue after identifying him.
Yen is a freshman at National Sun Yat-sen University and director of Greater Kaohsiung-based activist group Flanc Radical’s electoral campaign in Greater Kaohsiung.
“This is my way of responding to what Ma said [in] the Deutsche Welle [report],” Yen said, referring to Ma’s misreported praise of German unification as a possible model for China-Taiwan relations in a recent report by the German radio station.
The station has since corrected its erroneous report and clarified what the president said.
Yen threw Formosa Betrayed, written by former US diplomat George Kerr about Taiwan’s transition from Japanese rule as well as the 228 Incident and the White Terror era during Taiwan’s authoritarian period under the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Yen first gained attention after he mobilized a large number of students from southern Taiwan to join the Sunflower movement in Taipei earlier this year.
At 18, he is also thought to be the youngest election campaign director in Taiwan.
Yen said he was visiting friends at the Northern Taiwan Society fundraiser when he found out that Ma was in the same building.
“I did not come here with a plan. I just bought the book on the spot from an NTS stand,” he said.
Police later dragged Yen away from Ma and cornered the student near the entrance of a restroom. Seeking help, Yen called his friends at the NTS event downstairs, who sent legal experts to his aid.
Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強), lawyer and member of the Democratic Front Against the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement, and Democratic Progressive Party spokesperson Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎), who is also a lawyer, happened to be at the NTS event and immediately offered legal advice to Yen.
“The police were threatening Yen by saying that he had already been arrested, which simply could not be true,” Lai said.
Regarding the legality of hurling a book at the president, Lai said: “If the book actually hurt someone, it would be an offense of causing injury (傷害罪). However, such a case would require the victim to press charges before police action can be taken.”
Lai said the group was about to leave with Yen, but several police refused to let them go.
Jostling between the two parties ensued.
Lai’s secretary, Chen Guan-yu (陳冠宇), said he was trying to help Lai and Yen leave when he was pinned to the ground by a police officer who accused him of “assaulting police.”
“I really did not hit anybody. I was just trying to stand between the police and lawyer Lai,” Chen said, adding that he received minor injuries on his neck.
Taiwan Association of University Professors president Lu Chung-chin (呂忠津) also joined negotiations at the scene.
“In the end, everybody just realized the need to calm down,” Lu said. “They probably also thought the incident was not worth all the fuss. They just asked Yen to leave some identification information and let him go.”
After the incident, Presidential Office spokeswoman Ma Wei-kuo (馬瑋國) said the president respects the rights of the public to express their views rationally, but any form of violence should be condemned.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
RSS