Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien’s (連勝文) camp yesterday released a video of his wife, Patty Tsai (蔡依珊), recalling the time Lien was shot while stumping for KMT New Taipei City Councilor Chen Hung-yuan (陳鴻源) four years ago.
Lin Cheng-wei (林正偉) shot Lien at close range, with the bullet entering the left side of Lien’s face and exiting near his right temple.
Afterward, Lin said he had mistaken Lien for Chen. Lin was sentenced to life imprisonment in January last year.
In the video, Tsai says that despite his brush with death, Lien had not been simmering with resentment after the incident, nor had he become angry and misanthropic.
“That is why I like him, because he has been a sunshine boy,” she says.
The video then shows Tsai saying she believes God had a reason for helping Lien survive the shooting and appealing to Taipei voters to give him a chance.
“He always leaves a good impression on anyone who talks to him because he is very sincere,” she says.
Earlier in the day, when asked about the shooting, Lien said he would be lying if he said he was not haunted by the incident, adding that it had been life-changing.
“I began to think about what I could do to give back to society. Today [the anniversary of the shooting] really means a lot to me,” he said.
In other developments, Lien said he plans to donate the subsidy he will receive from the government for his votes in Saturday’s election to charity.
Lien made the remark when asked to confirm a report in the Chinese-language Next Magazine that he would announce a donation from his personal assets ahead of Saturday’s election to boost his chances.
“It [the magazine] got it wrong. We are planning to donate the NT$30 per vote subsidy,” Lien said as he canvassed for support at the Zhengyi Public Housing Complex (正義國宅) in the city’s Daan District (大安) last night.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
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About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
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