The Taipei Police Department yesterday arrested a 54-year-old man surnamed Chang (張) for allegedly firing three gunshots at the Ministry of Digital Affairs in Taipei.
No one was injured in the shooting.
The incident nonetheless caused a security scare as the building is only about 750m from the Presidential Office Building.
Photo: CNA
Based on surveillance camera footage and witness descriptions, Chang walked into the ministry through the main entrance carrying a backpack and a shotgun. A pistol was also found later.
When a security guard stopped him, Chang reportedly made comments critical of the government and fired a shot at a wall.
He fired a second shot at a and a third at an automatic door at the entrance, witnesses said.
Photo: CNA
Chang did not attempt to flee after firing, witnesses said.
When police officers arrived, Chang walked out of the building, dropped the gun and backpack, squatted and held his head in his hands as he was arrested, witnesses said.
A preliminary investigation found that Chang operates a bed-and-breakfast near Cingjing Farm (清靜農場) in Nantou County’s Renai Township (仁愛).
Chang wrote on Facebook shortly before the incident that he is not affiliated with any political party, but he hated the Democratic Progressive Party “to the guts” for blocking imports of COVID-19 vaccines and favoring Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗).
No judicial officials are investigating the corruption cases and scandals are piling up in this government, he wrote.
Some news media are turning into assassins of the ruling party, spreading rumors and telling people to hate China, he wrote.
“Why do we have to hate China? Americans have been sucking our blood, yet we are still busy currying favor with them,” he wrote. “And what has the ministry done for Taiwan? All it does is promote what this incompetent government has done and feel good about itself.”
Chang attributed Taiwan Power Co’s (台電) financial woes to the government’s green energy policy, adding that ordinary Taiwanese have to foot the bill.
Police recovered a shotgun and a pistol, as well as five shotgun shells and two pistol magazines.
Police officials said that an investigation has been launched into Chang’s political background and whether he had accomplices.
Chang told police officers that he purchased the guns via an online advertisement, a claim they said was being assessed.
Chang faces possible charges of contravening the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例) and the Criminal Code, police said.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS