The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) passed a resolution during its Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday asking the Ministry of Justice to put more effort into reopening the investigation of the 319 shooting incident.
KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) cited a public opinion poll and said he proposed the resolution in order to reveal the “truth” behind the incident.
“Tomorrow marks the fifth anniversary of the incident, and there is still a lot of mystery and suspicion surrounding the incident. As the ruling party, the KMT supports reopening the case,” Wu said at KMT headquarters.
The shooting happened during an afternoon motorcade by former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) in Tainan on March 19, 2004, one day before the presidential poll. Chen and Lu, standing in a Jeep, were both shot.
The authorities identified the shooter as Chen Yi-hsiung (陳義雄), who was found dead 10 days after the incident.
The KMT has questioned the incident, calling it an election scheme, and the legislature convened a 319 Shooting Truth Investigation Special Committee, convened by now Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) to probe the case.
In August 2005, the Tainan Public Prosecutor's Office closed the case after concluding that Chen Yi-hsiung, the lone suspect in the shooting, had committed suicide.
Wu said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had issued his support for the resolution and agreed that more personnel should be assigned by the ministry to probe the case.
“According to an opinion poll, more than 80 percent of the public don't believe the results of the investigation, and even former vice president Lu has challenged it. The ministry should include more staff to probe the case,” Wu said.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the