Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday dared a member of the pro-unification Concentric Patriotism Association to “try that again and see what happens,” after seeing a video apparently showing the woman kicking at a police officer outside the Taipei 101 building.
The video clip, posted on YouTube on Thursday, stoked public ire, with netizens calling on the new mayor to make good on a campaign promise to rein in the group, which is known for its opposition to the Falun Gong movement.
Ko said the nation should not be controlled by big corporations or people who resort to violence.
Photo: YouTube
The clip, titled: “Please have them arrested: a true record of the Concentric Patriotism Association’s insane attack on Jan. 19,” shows association member Zhang Xiuye (張秀葉) carrying a Chinese national flag, shouting and kicking at a police officer.
“So I kicked you? Go ahead and sue me,” Zhang says while kicking at an officer standing in front of her.
She turns to the camera and adds: “Sue me, you coward.”
“I will keep persecuting the pigs no matter what,” she yells.
“It would be no use for you to replace even 10 Xinyi District (信義) police chiefs,” she says, in an apparent reference to Ko’s pre-election public admonition of former Xinyi District police chief Lee Te-wei (李德威), who applied for early retirement soon after Ko was sworn in as mayor.
Ko had threatened to fire Lee, saying the police department needed to prevent the association from attacking Falun Gong practitioners, who often stage sedentary demonstrations outside Taipei 101, which is a popular destination for tourists from China.
“I don’t know where you pigs came from,” Zhang says in the video, apparently in response to comments from people looking on.
“I was sent by the Chinese Communist Party [CCP],” she says. “Is Taipei 101 the only place where the CCP could send its people?”
“[Do you think] the CCP has no money?” she says. “I have tons. I can station my people all over Taiwan.”
Association head Zhou Qinjun (周慶峻) can be seen in the clip carrying a video camera.
“This is a Chinese place,” he says.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS