Tainan City Councilor Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) of the Democratic Progressive Party said he would not apologize for his actions at Tainan’s Confucius Temple on Tuesday and he challenged Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Vice Chairman Zhang Mingqing (張銘清) to sue him.
“I did not hit anyone,” Wang said during a tearful tirade at a press conference. “I welcome Mr Zhang Mingqing to take me to court all the way, but he must recognize the legal jurisdiction of the Republic of China.”
Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) said on Tuesday that Zhang had filed a formal complaint against those involved in the melee.
Zhang arrived Taipei on Sunday in his capacity as dean of the Xiamen University’s School of Journalism for an academic forum in Tainan City. He was approached by Wang and a group of protestors during a sightseeing trip to the temple. A scuffle broke out and Zhang fell, losing his glasses.
Wang insisted yesterday that he had not pushed Zhang and had actually tried to help him up.
He also protested the demotion of Tainan City Police Bureau Commissioner Chen Fu-hsiang (陳富祥), who was transferred and slapped with a demerit for allegedly failing to protect Zhang.
The National Police Agency announced on Tuesday night that Chen would be transferred to be deputy director-general of the National Highway Police Bureau to take responsibility for the incident.
Chen’s transfer and disciplinary action against other police officers were announced after Minister of the Interior Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) apologized for the incident and vowed the ministry would launch an investigation to determine if law enforcement authorities had failed in their duties.
Tainan prosecutors have also launched an investigation. They said anyone found to have “illegally bullied” Zhang was likely to face charges of hampering freedom, assault and damaging property.
Accompanied by his wife, who also cried at the press conference, Wang said he was only been trying to protect Taiwan’s sovereignty and that Zhang’s statement of “no Taiwan independence, no war” was extremely unfriendly and offensive to Taiwan.
“Don’t I have the right to express my displeasure when the enemy makes such a declaration while on my turf?” Wang asked.
The city councilor said he bore sole responsibility for the incident and warned that anyone who tried to harm his family would have to answer to him.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS