Lawmaker blames Su for criticism

One of the two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators who staged a security drill stunt on Wednesday at National Taiwan University (NTU) yesterday blamed the premier after fellow DPP members criticized him.

During yesterday's legislative national affairs forum -- where legislators can discuss any topic they want -- DPP Legislator Lee Chen-nan (李鎮楠) said that Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) had allowed DPP legislators with close ties to Su to attack him.

Lee and DPP Legislator Lin Kuo-ching (林國慶) drew criticism from all quarters on Thursday after they led several education officials and the media to NTU on Wednesday afternoon, where they announced an impromptu drill by simulating a hostage situation.

They then proceeded to roam through the hallways and classrooms of NTU's College of Bio-Resources and Agriculture, where students were studying or taking mid-term examinations, where they were confronted by dozens of police officers sent from nearby Da-an Precinct wearing bullet-proof vests and carrying 9mm pistols and M-16 assault rifles. The pair then explained to the visibly agitated officers that it was only a drill.

Lee told a press conference on Thursday that he staged the drill out of concern for students in the wake of the killing rampage on Monday at NTU's sister school in the US, Virginia Tech University.

"The pro-independence media and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have been criticizing me all day long, as if I and Lin Kuo-ching had committed a heinous offense," Lee said yesterday, emphasizing that he did not do anything wrong.

"Even Premier Su asked his men to attack me. Was this right and just?" he asked

When approached for comment on Lee's remarks, DPP Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡), a Su protege, said Lee was trying to shift the public's focus by painting himself as a victim of the wrangling between Su and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) -- who are vying for the party's presidential nomination in next year's election.

DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said the pair should think about what they did and offer the public an apology.