The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday ruled out the possibility the assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian (
Bureau commissioner Hou You-yi (
Chen received a gash across his stomach and Vice President Annette Lu (
"It is impossible that the assassination attempt was orchestrated because the car was moving and no marksman could have this kind of shooting technique," Hou told reporters, adding that the open-topped jeep was travelling at 30kph.
Senior officers told reporters in Taipei they would leave "no stone unturned" in their investigation. But the special police unit set up to investigate the case still had no specific suspect despite having interviewed about 400 witnesses, checked photographs and video footage from the scene and carried out detailed ballistics investigations.
Police also said that DNA analysis proved blood found on the two bullets belonged to Chen and Lu.
Judy Cheng of the CIB told reporters the videotapes showed two shots were fired at Chen and Lu somewhere along a 50m stretch of the road where two bullet shells were found.
Video footage and witness accounts revealed Chen had started feeling ill within 50m.
Chen said he first believed he had been hit by a firecracker when he felt a sharp pain in his belly.
"I bore the pain and continued waving to my supporters as the motorcade proceeded,"Chen said yesterday. in his first public comments about the shooting.
He only realized he had been shot when the bodyguard told him he was bleeding, he saw Lu's bloody knee and spotted the bullet hole in the windscreen.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex