Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers and former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who is currently in detention on charges of corruption and money laundering, have reacted angrily to a skit recently performed by members of the judiciary, which they believe was intended to mock Chen.
At an event held to celebrate Law Day (司法節) at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office (TDPO) on Sunday, several members of the judiciary put on a comic skit for the amusement of an audience of judges, prosecutors and attorneys.
The skit portrayed a court hearing in which someone accused of a narcotics offense tried to delay the case by claiming to be HIV positive and saying that she wanted to die together with the judge. When the judge ordered the defendant to be held in detention and was put in handcuffs, the defendant held up her cuffed hands in the air, crying, “Judicial persecution! The court police are beating me! I demand to have my injuries examined!”
The audience of legal professionals reportedly found the skit very funny because the “defendant’s” acts of displaying her handcuffs and shouting slogans closely resembled gestures made by Chen when he was taken into detention in November.
The skit was written by TDPO chief prosecutor Ching Chi-jen (慶啟人), who traveled to Switzerland and Singapore last year to investigate the money-laundering allegations against former president Chen, while the accused was played by another Taipei prosecutor, Chang An-chen (張安箴).
On hearing reports of the skit, DPP legislators said it was meant to mock Chen and that such a frivolous performance brought the judiciary into disrepute.
Speaking through his lawyer, Cheng Wen-long (鄭文龍), Chen accused the prosecutors of “gloating” about his case and called their behavior “unimaginable.”
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
RSS