The Kaohsiung City Council yesterday morning decided to adjourn in protest of the violence directed at Council Speaker Huang Chi-chuan (
City councilors also prayed for Huang's speedy recovery and visited him at Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, where the speaker is receiving medical treatment after being beaten up by a number of demonstrators outside the city council chamber the day before.
Later, deputy speaker Tsai Sung-shyong (蔡松雄), along with eight city councilors, visited Prosecutor-General of Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office Chu Nan (朱楠) to demand that the city's law enforcement officers bring the offenders to justice.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
"Kaohsiung City Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) has tolerated violence in the city for far too long," Tsai commented. "Conflicts haven't stopped since Hsieh took office," he added.
On Thursday, a group of DPP and TSU supporters gathered at the square in front of the council hall to protest the city council's decision to scrap the city's Department of Information.
When preparing to enter the council chamber to chair a meeting, Huang tried to shake hands with some of the protesters to show his goodwill. But the protesters rebuffed him and called him "garbage." They then started to kick him and beat him on live TV. Some of them also attacked the cameramen for filming the disturbance.
When the fight subsided, Huang entered the council chamber but was taken to the hospital by other councilors when he began to experience discomfort.
"Since the protest was officially approved by the city government, I demand that the mayor take responsibility for the violence," Huang said at the hospital.
According to Hsu Po-jen (許博仁), head of the surgical department at the hospital, Huang has a medical history of high blood pressure, and his blood pressure has risen after the assault. But the doctor said that Huang is now in stable condition, and that he should be discharged from the hospital in 48 hours.
Meanwhile, local police said that the protesters were led by some DPP candidates for the year-end city councilor elections. Police have already detained a 51-year-old woman, Lee Mei-tsu (李美足), who has admitted to beating the speaker. They are still searching for six other suspects.
Before the violence, Huang was scheduled to announce his bid for the city's mayoral seat and was to register in the KMT's primary today. However, Huang said yesterday that he would ask his assistant to register for him and would not go to the party's Kaohsiung chapter in person.
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