A man wielding a Japanese sword yesterday slashed a military police officer guarding the Presidential Office Building, authorities said.
A 51-year-old, surnamed Lu (呂), was overpowered by other guards and prevented from entering the building, police said, adding that the injured guard was rushed to nearby National Taiwan University Hospital for treatment.
Lu approached the west wing of the building on the intersection of Boai Road and Zhangsha Street at about 10:15am, where he slashed the guard’s neck, police said.
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
An initial investigation found that Lu used a hammer to smash a display case containing the sword at the Armed Forces Museum on Guiyang Street and took the weapon before heading to the Presidential Office Building, they said.
Police found a People’s Republic of China flag in Lu’s bag.
Police said they also found what appeared to be Lu’s will, which contained such sentences as: “I watch China Central Television daily and I get emotional seeing the motherland’s development projects,” and “Achieve unification with China as soon as possible.”
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
TV footage showed Lu being carried away by four officers and put in a police car near a side entrance of the building, which was cordoned off after the attack.
During questioning, Lu said he attacked the guard to “demonstrate my political position,” said Tsai Han-cheng (蔡漢政), head of the Jieshou police station affiliated with the Taipei Police Department’s Zhongzheng First Precinct.
Lu has been turned over to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, Tsai said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) said the protocol for use of force by armed personnel will be reviewed.
“I cannot imagine the scenario if the man had stormed into the Presidential Office Building during the annual family day,” when relatives of employees working at the office spend the day there, Feng said.
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said the injured guard was in stable condition after receiving treatment.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was concerned about the guard after learning about the attack, Huang said.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) issued a statement condemning the attack after visiting the injured officer in hospital.
Tsai Ing-wen also visited the injured guard later yesterday.
The guard sustained a 10cm cut to the right side of his neck, but was not in critical condition, Colonel Chang Po-yen (張博彥) of the Military Police 202nd Command said.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) confirmed that a sword was stolen from the museum, adding that surveillance footage had been handed over to police.
The museum was closed to the public following the attack.
The Presidential Office Building and its surrounding area have been the target of attacks before.
In November 2014, a man tried to drive into the front door of the nearby presidential residence, saying he was protesting the health policies of then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
In January 2014, a man drove a truck through a bullet-proof screen and into the main gate of the Presidential Office Building, saying he was protesting a judicial hearing involving his ex-wife.
There were no injuries from either incident, apart from one of the drivers.
Additional reporting by AFP
COMMITMENT: The world’s biggest contract chipmaker said that its new 2nm chips, as well as next-generation, cutting-edge 1.4nm chips, will be produced in Taiwan Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that the majority of its most advanced chips would continue to be manufactured in Taiwan and that it is boosting advanced chip packaging capacity to catch up with fast-growing demand driven by generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications like ChatGPT. Deeply rooted in Taiwan, TSMC is expanding production capacity for its most advanced 3-nanometer (nm) chips at its Tainan fab and is building new plants to produce new 2-nanometer chips in Hsinchu and Taichung in 2025. The chipmaker also plans to produce next-generation, cutting-edge 1.4-nanometer chips, which are currently under development, at home, it
PASSAGE DISPUTE: A US and Canadian transit was a provocation and an attempt to ‘exercise hegemony of navigation,’ China’s defense ministry told a forum in Singapore The Ministry of National Defense yesterday urged the Chinese Communist Party to avoid provocative behavior after a Chinese navy ship crossed the paths of a US destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait. A Chinese ship on Saturday “executed maneuvers in an unsafe manner in the vicinity of [the USS] Chung-Hoon,” an American destroyer, the US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement. The vessel “overtook Chung-Hoon on their port side and crossed their bow at 150 yards [137m]. Chung-Hoon maintained course and slowed to 10 [knots, 18.5kph] to avoid a collision,” the statement said. It then “crossed Chung-Hoon’s bow a second time
HARD-WON FREEDOM: Beijing’s 1989 crackdown on protesters has not been and should not be forgotten, as China tightens its grip on Hong Kong, Lai said Taiwanese enjoy democracy and freedom and have multiple ways to express their creativity, and hopefully young people in China would also one day have the freedom to sing and express themselves, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday, commemorating the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Yesterday was the 34th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s bloody crackdown on student-led protests in Beijing in 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident. Tsai posted a photograph taken in March in a subway station in Guizhou, China, where hundreds of young people gathered to sing People With No Ideals Don’t Get Hurt (沒有理想的人不傷心), saying that they
GUILTY AS CHARGED: Chen Hsueh-sheng repeatedly pressed his belly against a DPP lawmaker and made derogatory remarks when confronted over his behavior The Taipei District Court yesterday upheld a verdict against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Hsueh-sheng (陳雪生), finding him liable for sexually harassing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) during a physical altercation on the legislative floor in 2020. The DPP lawmaker accused Chen of pressing his belly against her back three times in a sexually suggestive manner during a scuffle between lawmakers from both parties. Chen must pay Fan NT$80,000 in damages as stipulated by a summary ruling of the district court at the first trial, the court said in a news release. The verdict is final as the
RSS