Four young people protesting against China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) in Kinmen were injured when they were attacked by black-clad men who had gathered to welcome his arrival, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Department of Youth Affairs director Chang Chao-lin (張兆林) said yesterday.
An attack against a young office worker surnamed Chang (張) resulted in the dislocation of his right shoulder, Chang Chao-lin said at 5pm, when Chang was in the emergency room of Kinmen Hospital for treatment.
Two college students were also at the hospital at that time for treatment after altercations, he said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
One, surnamed Lee (李), suffered lacerations to his right ear after several black-clad men hit him over the head, while the other, surnamed Wang (王), had bruises on his head and hands from beatings, Chang Chao-lin said, adding that he was also kicked in the stomach.
“We were just voicing our opinions within the areas designated by the police as ‘protest areas.’ All of a sudden, about several dozen black-clad men rushed into the area and began to beat us,” Chang Chao-lin said.
The attack began when the group of about 70 protesters organized by the TSU threw a smoke grenade when Zhang’s motorcade passed.
Chang Chao-lin said the grenade was harmless.
“Because we were kept at a distance from Zhang, we had to do something to let him see our demands,” Chang Chao-lin said.
“Go back [to China],” the TSU protesters shouted, holding posters that said Zhang came with “united front” tactics to subdue Taiwan, and expressing opposition to the proposed plan for representative offices on both sides of the Strait and to the bid to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which they said would defraud Taiwan.
Zhang arrived at Kinmen harbor at about noon for a two-day visit that began with a meeting with Mainland Affairs Council Minister Andrew Hsia (夏立言).
Zhang was met by a crowd of between 400 and 500 people, including the men dressed in black and people carrying the banners of pro-unification groups, including China Unification Promotion Party, China Production Party and Patriot Association.
Chang Chao-lin accused the police of negligence over the assault.
“There were just four or five police officers stationed around us, even through they had seen several dozen black-clad men with gang tattoos who were watching us from the very beginning of the protest,” Chang Chao-lin said.
The black-clad men who were eventually taken away by the police were later released, Chang Chao-lin said.
“The police caught them red-handed. How could they let them go?” Chang Chao-lin asked.
Hung Chun-yi (洪俊義), commander of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Kinmen County Police Bureau, said that the police detained a man surnamed Wu (吳) and is checking for three other suspects they detained in the video footage taken by the police.
A man in the crowd welcoming Zhang was also injured, Hung said.
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