In a U-turn from his previous position, Premier Frank Hsieh approved the resignation of Vice Minister of the Interior Lin Yung-chien (林永堅), Cabinet spokesman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday.
Lin resigned to take responsibility for the violent clashes between pan-blue and pan-green camp supporters at CKS International Airport as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
"I hope criticism stops here, as I took the responsibility and resigned," Lin said. "From now on, I hope we will keep encouraging our police officers as they continue to do their jobs. We shall have faith in them."
Lin made his remarks during a press conference at the ministry yesterday morning.
"I called [Hsieh] last night and told him that I would take the responsibility and resign. He understood and said, `thank you for your sacrifice,'" Lin said.
The vice minister said that he is responsible because Interior Minister Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) was in Rome participating in the Pope's coronation on that day.
During the press conference, Lin also responded to criticism regarding the inability of the police to bring the brawl to an end, or to dismiss the crowd at the airport before clashes took place.
"The police's priority in such situations is to talk the person or people down. The police did not do anything wrong," Lin said.
But the former vice minister signaled out airport security officials for failing to prevent the violence.
"I feel regret that the officer in charge at the scene failed to exercise his authority and respond properly when the violence broke out," Lin said, referring to former Aviation Police Bureau Director Chen Juei-tien (陳瑞添).
Chen was moved out of the job and into a research position shortly after the incident.
Lin also said that the ministry's request from the police was clear and well informed. Unfortunately, the Aviation Police Bureau director did not strictly enforce the law so he lost his job, he said.
In addition, National Police Agency Deputy Director-General Liu Shih-lin (劉世林) was also administratively punished for failing to ensure that the bureau had sufficient personnel to maintain security at the airport.
Lin also told reporters that Director-General Hsieh Ing-dan (謝銀黨) said he should also be punished for the incident.
His request has not been confirmed.
"We need Hsieh to stay, at least for this moment, to comfort the police force and encourage fellow officers," Lin said.
Now that Lin is no longer vice interior minister, he said he hopes "probes into police conduct can be stopped at this point," as police still have many tough jobs ahead.
Lin was referring to Lien's return on May 3, and People First Party Chairman James Soong's (宋楚瑜) departure for China May 5.
Lin, a former deputy mayor of Kaohsiung, assumed the second-highest post at the MOI -- which supervises police operations -- in February this year.
Meanwhile, Chen Tzi-chin (
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
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
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
RSS