The shooting of President Chen Shui-bian (
"The incident will definitely have an impact on tomorrow's election because it would win some sympathy from undecided voters," said Wang Yeh-lih (王業立), chairman of Tunghai University's department of political science.
Although dramatic events have happened during election campaigns over the years, Wang said that the impact this time would be significant because of its brutality.
Yesterday's shooting was not the first time pro-unification supporters have apparently attacked political figures or commentators who opposed their views.
Last November, New York-based political commentator Cao Chang-ching (曹長青) was assaulted by members of the pro-unification Patriot Association (愛國同心會).
Unhappy with Cao's pro-independence remarks during an international conference, four members of the association beat and insulted Cao in the lobby of the Grand Hotel where the conference was being held.
In March last year, Chin Heng-wei (金恆煒), a political commentator and editor-in-chief of Contemporary Monthly magazine, was attacked while walking home with his wife. The assailant was believed to have been angry with Chin's liberal stance on cross-strait affairs and Taiwanese independence.
In May 2000, retired serviceman Shih Li-hsing (史力行) poured red ink onto former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) who, he said, had raised tensions between ethnic groups in Taiwan and betrayed the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) during his 12 years as head of the party.
Chin and Lee chose not to press charges against their attackers.
Wang said he was reluctant to say that pro-unification supporters were more violent because it was inappropriate to blame a specific camp as a whole for election violence.
"The prohibition of violence is absolute in a democratic country, and it's not conducive to social stability and harmony to lay the blame on any political camp," he said.
Refusing to speculate on the impact of the shooting on the election, Liao Yung-lai (廖永來), director of the Cabinet's Central Coordination Office, condemned violence.
"I wish voters would exercise more rationality and less passion when it comes to elections," Liao said.
Yang Ming-yu (
Yang also said that KMT officials had been brutally attacked by pro-independence advocates during KMT rule, including the late former vice president and Taiwan provincial governor, Hsieh Tung-min (
Shieh suffered serious injuries to both hands when a parcel bomb sent to his office blew up on Oct. 10, 1966. The bomb was sent by Wang Sing-nan (王幸男), who is now a DPP legislator, to highlight the cause of Taiwan independence.
Chiang escaped an assassination attempt unscathed in New York in 1970. The attempt to kill Chiang was staged by Peter Huang (黃文雄), now an advisor to the president and former Taiwan Association for Human Rights (台灣人權促進會) president.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
RSS