Former death row inmates Su Chien-ho (蘇建和) and Chuang Lin-hsun (莊林勳) yesterday appeared at a press conference to support lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who is seeking the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) nomination as its candidate for the year-end Taipei mayoral election.
Su, Chuang and Liu Bin-lang (劉秉郎), dubbed the “Hsichih Trio,” had been embroiled in a case spanning two decades in which they had been accused of robbing and murdering Wu Min-han (吳銘漢) and Yeh Ying-lan (葉盈蘭) in March 1991. The three were represented by Koo in court and were found not guilty on Aug. 31, 2012, marking the end of the case.
Su yesterday said he has known Koo for more than 13 years, adding that Koo is a good man who is serious and careful in his actions, who always keeps an eye out for the disadvantaged and supports social causes.
Photo: CNA
Koo helped the disadvantaged and the poor voluntarily, Su said, adding that he was not the only person who had received Koo’s kind-hearted help.
Su said that as a Taiwanese, Koo felt he should also pay attention to political issues, adding that he felt that Koo would be an excellent mayor.
At the press conference held to introduce his campaign advisers, Koo screened three campaign videos criticizing the Taipei City Government’s urban renewal project.
He said that the city government had “been all hot air and no action” under both President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), when he was Taipei mayor, and Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌).
Koo said the city government’s decision to spend NT$200 million (US$6.6 million) to remove and rebuild what is now Jiancheng Circle (建成圓環) in 2001 was a bad one, referring perhaps to the subsequent shutdown of the area’s commercial activities due to a lawsuit, and their eventual reopening in 2012.
Koo promised that if he was elected, he would solve the problem of buildings standing empty and derelict, and make well-planned housing policies.
He said that he would let residents of the city live with dignity in a quality environment.
Koo also said he would rebuild the Jiancheng Circle and again turn it into a favored tourist hotspot, as well as demolish bus-only lanes on Zhongxiao West Road to restore safety and traffic convenience.
Among the first people named to Koo’s team of advisers are Alliance for Handicapped People secretary-general Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Humanistic Education Foundation chairman Shih Ying (史英), former minister of finance Lin Chuan (林全), former Judicial Yuan secretary-general Fan Kuang-chun (范光群), author Ping Lu (平路), Academia Sinica research fellow Hu Sheng-cheng (胡勝正), Human Rights Covenants Watch convener Kao Yung-cheng (高涌誠), former Public Television Service Foundation president and chief executive Sylvia Feng (馮賢賢), Consumers’ Foundation chairwoman Joann Su (蘇錦霞), feminist activist Chen Chao-ju (陳昭如) and National Health Insurance Civic Surveillance Alliance spokesperson Eva Teng (滕西華).
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
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