The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday accused President Chen Shui-bian's (
"Although Taiwan calls itself a democracy, people are still not allowed to plead with the president. Nor does the president listen to the voice of the people," KMT caucus whip Kuo Su-chun (
Kuo was referring to a demonstration while Chen was giving a speech during National Cheng Kung University's school anniversary on Sunday.
Six students on a sports field held up banners and shouted "Designate Lo Sheng Sanatorium a historic site." They were taken away immediately by security personnel.
The sanatorium for sufferers of Hansen's Disease was built under Japanese colonial rule in 1930 in Sinjhuang (
The KMT caucus yesterday showed reporters two pictures -- one of the guards throwing a female student to the ground while another guard dragged away a male student who was kneeling down as he tried to plead with Chen.
Kuo lashed out at the guards for dealing with "unarmed students this way," adding that this had traumatized the students physically and psychologically.
KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who was also at the conference, said the way the presidential guards treated the students showed that Chen seemed to regard the people as "terrorists."
Such treatment had also undermined public trust and respect for the president, Hung said.
In response, the Military Police (MP) said yesterday that MPs would never tackle protesters.
"MPs form part of National Security Bureau personnel. But the presidential guard who tackled the girl is not [a member of the bureau]," said Major General Kao Yao-bin (高耀斌), police chief-of-staff, while answering Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fangs (林郁方) questions during the legislature's National Defense Committee meeting yesterday morning.
Kao said that MPs have been trained and know how to behave while enforcing the law.
"We always try to talk to the subject first," Kao said.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus accused the KMT of orchestrating the latest string of incidents involving the president.
"I encourage the KMT to stand up and bravely admit it," DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
"Taiwanese would not do things like that. It is obvious that there's a mastermind behind all these using them as an election ploy," Ker said. "It is clever. It does not cost a lot of money, but it creates the desired effect."
Commenting on the presidential guard's alleged tackling of a female protester, DPP Legislator Kao Chien-chih (
"A presidential guard's job is to protect the president. At that instant, it was difficult for him to tell who the protester was and whether the protester was a danger to the president. All he needed to do was to `disable' the protester and he did it just fine," Kao said.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese