A 29-year-old man surnamed Kung (龔) was arrested yesterday after an attack at an elementary school in Taipei in which an eight-year-old girl’s throat was cut.
As of press time, the girl was undergoing emergency medical treatment at Taipei Veterans General Hospital.
Police said preliminary investigations suggest Kung entered the grounds of Wenhua Elementary School (文化國小) in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) at about 4pm yesterday, before walking up four flights of stairs to the girls’ restroom, pulling out a knife when he saw the girl about to enter the restroom and allegedly slashing her twice across the throat.
Photo: CNA
The girl was found lying in a pool of blood and was rushed to hospital, while Kung remained at the scene and was detained by police.
An angry crowd gathered outside the police station last night and attempted to beat Kung as he stepped out of the police car. The police managed to hold back the crowd and took him into the station.
There was conflicting information about Kung’s supposed motive, with some sources saying that he was enraged after being unable to find work for four months, while others said that Kung was upset after being scolded by his mother and brother for not visiting his cancer-stricken father in hospital on Thursday.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Responding to questions from city councilors about the attack during a question-and-answer session at a city council meeting, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that the city would assemble a special task force to review schoolground safety and security and establish a system within a year to screen and monitor dangerous people.
He added that the city presently had no system that would have been capable of keeping tabs on the suspect.
Department of Education Commissioner Tang Chih-min (湯志民) said that because schools are “open” as a matter of policy, it is difficult to keep tabs on everyone entering school grounds.
However, he said that more could be done to improve schoolground security, including addressing security camera “blind spots.”
Ko canceled a planned evening fund-raising appearance because of the incident, instead chairing a late-night city government meeting about the matter.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS