A veteran entertainer yesterday slapped Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) in the face, saying she was upset with the minister’s attempts to “discredit” Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son, former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
The incident occurred at a lunar year-end banquet in Taipei attended by veteran entertainers to mark the end of the Year of the Dog, the Chinese-language Mirror Media magazine reported.
The minister was going from table to table toasting the attendees when Lisa Cheng (鄭心儀), 67, slapped her in the face and then returned to her seat, footage taken at the event showed.
Photo: Pan Shao-tang, Taipei Times
Cheng Li-chiun gasped and put her hand on her cheek, looking surprised and confused.
Asked why she hit Cheng Li-chiun, Lisa Cheng, who is also known as Cheng Hui-chung (鄭惠中), said: “I had intended to slap her twice. I had been thinking about this for months... I went easy on her by slapping her just once.”
Lisa Cheng said that she “had to do it,” because meeting the minister was a “rare occasion.”
Photo: Pan Shao-tang, Taipei Times
The minister has been “ungrateful” by pushing policies to abolish Taipei’s Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and ignoring the Chiangs’ contributions to the nation, she said, adding that Cheng Li-chiun “had it coming.”
The minister declined to comment on the attack when leaving the venue, but later wrote on Facebook that she did not personally know Lisa Cheng.
While Taiwanese society embraces diversity and freedom of speech, people should not use violence to express their opinion, she wrote.
Her personal humiliation was insignificant next to safeguarding Taiwanese democracy, Cheng Li-chiun wrote, urging the public not to resort to violence when discussing public issues.
Accompanied by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), Lisa Cheng later told a news conference at the Taipei City Council that she had lost control of her emotions because of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s policies aimed at “discrediting the Chiangs.”
She said she would apologize to the minister, but would not apologize for her position on the memorial.
Leo Chuang (莊豐嘉), general manager of Chinese Television System (CTS, 華視), which hosted the banquet, said at a separate news conference that the network would sue Lisa Cheng on behalf of the minister, adding that it denounces any form of violence.
The Ministry of Culture last year held a series of workshops to discuss transforming the memorial, but has not said whether it would demolish or abolish it.
Last month, the ministry said that it had drafted two options for repurposing the memorial, which would be submitted to the Executive Yuan for interdepartmental discussions before they are made public.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS