Different political leanings brought a gangster couple further fame yesterday after police investigated an alleged assault by one partner but the victim refused to press charges.
According to the Taipei police's Chunghsiao West Rd. station, former Bamboo Union (竹聯幫) Tiger Division (虎堂) head Chu Chia-hsun (朱家訓) and his girlfriend Kao Mei-fang (高美芳), former head of the Tiger Division's Phoenix Corps (虎鳳隊), called them around 1am yesterday because Chu allegedly beat Kao and Kao had bruises around her right eye.
The pregnant Kao told police that Chu beat her up because she mocked him while she was asking him whether he would lead protesters to join the presidential inauguration.
"You chicken! You are not patriotic," Kao was quoted as saying in response to her live-in boyfriend's disinclination to participate in a May 19 protest.
The police said that Chu beat Kao in their car on their way home. Kao was rushed to a hospital when officers discovered she was injured.
But Kao did not file a complaint, and the police let them leave.
"I now have a NT$300,000 debt, so I really can't afford to protest any more," Chu said. "But I did apologize to her. I should not have done what I did to her."
Chu and Kao have been involved in the pan-blue camp's rallies following the presidential election on March 20. They reportedly led gang members in these rallies and offered free food to protesters.
Since then, the pair have had heavy media coverage and have been invited onto TV talk shows.
Kao yesterday was quoted by local newspapers as saying that Chu was very jealous because she had been the focus of media attention.
Chu and Kao were rumored to have been involved in rioting during the protests, but the police found insufficient evidence to take further action on the matter.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group