Two suspected gangsters were released on bail yesterday after being questioned by Taipei prosecutors over their involvement in an alleged assault on Tainan City Councilor Wang Ting-yu (王定宇).
Huang Ju-yi (黃如意) and Wu Yi-wei (吳奕偉) were released on bail of NT$300,000 and NT$100,000 respectively. They have been listed as defendants in the investigation.
Huang had tried to leave the country via Kinmen on Tuesday but was blocked and detained.
Wang held a press conference earlier on Tuesday, saying he had been held hostage, threatened and assaulted by Huang and his associates last Thursday as part of an alleged plot by pro-China gangsters.
Wang said the gangsters wanted revenge for his involvement in an incident involving Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Vice Chairman Zhang Mingqing (張銘清).
Zhang fell to the ground after being jostled by independence supporters led by Wang during a visit to the Confucius Temple in Tainan on Tuesday last week.
“Prosecutors decided to list them both as defendants, even though Wang said only Wu threatened him,” said Lin Chin-chun (林錦村), spokesman for the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office.
Taipei Prosecutor Deng Ding-chiang (鄧定強) talked to Huang, Wu and Wang on Tuesday but made no detentions.
Huang was then detained in Kinmen later on Tuesday after he was caught trying to board a ferry to Xiamen, China. Huang told reporters he had not been told he must stay in the country.
The two men were detained for more questioning but released on bail and barred from leaving the country.
“What they said in their statements and conversations with prosecutors did not match up, so we still need to figure out who was lying,” Lin said.
Lin said Wang told prosecutors he had only met Huang about three times, while Huang said they had been friends for at least seven years.
In his account, Wang accused Wu of threatening that if he did not publicly apologize to Zhang, he might be killed by a “single shot.”
But Huang told prosecutors that Wu only said he would “beat Huang up” and not that he would shoot him.
Meanwhile, DPP Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) yesterday urged Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Vanessa Shih (史亞平) to condemn news channels that aired the footage showing Huang demanding an apology from Wang.
Lin said showing the footage violated journalistic ethics.
In response, Shih said the GIO was against broadcasting violent footage, but it was the National Communications Commission’s responsibility to deal with the matter.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
RSS