Confronted with controversy over his role in banning a show of a man living with 100 poisonous snakes, Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
"I suggested [that] the police deal with the case. It was not that I ordered the police to ban it in my capacity as justice minister," he said.
Insisting that the show was a breach of the Social Order Main-tenance Law (社會秩序維護法), Chen also criticized the Taipei City Government for allowing what he called an "illegal, life-threatening game" to take place at a city government-owned public space, calling it "inconceivable."
The "man and snakes" show took place at the underground shopping area near Taipei Rail Station last Friday.
It was sponsored by shop owners to promote the shopping area's first anniversary.
In the show, a 28-year-old air-conditioner repairman Lin Ching-feng (林青峰), was offered a NT$1 million prize if he survived 10 days living with 100 poisonous snakes in a room set up behind a display window. The activity organizer selected Lin from a pool of several applicants.
The organizer claimed that among the 100 snakes in the room, there were 50 whose venom has no known antidote.
On Sunday, Lin's third day with the snakes, Chen visited the scene and then sent a note to the Tatung Police Station (
The police closed the show, pending a court ruling.
The show's organizer and Lin said they are disappointed with the ban, insisting there was nothing illegal about the act. They also replaced the snakes with 100 chickens to protest the decision.
Lin said that his goal for taking on the challenge of living with the snakes was not money but rather to educate people that wild animals are not dangerous once people begin to understand them. He said the chicken protest was meant to show that snakes are just as safe as chickens.
But Chen insisted that the snake performance carried a significant threat to Lin's life and that promoting dangerous stunts was unlawful.
"Such a `death contract' was invalid, and was in absolute violation of acceptable social conventions," he said.
Article 82 of the Social Order Maintenance Law bans public performances that violate "acceptable social conventions."
Chen stressed that the Code of Criminal Procedure requires any public official who has knowledge of a crime to report the crime to the police. "As the head of the judicial administration, I must set a good example with my conduct," he said.
Chen's comments came yesterday afternoon after reporters asked him for his reaction to comments they said Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
However, it was later revealed that the media had misquoted Ma and that he in fact had not responded to Taipei City councilors who had questioned him about the matter yesterday.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS