An army investigation in to whether a soldier deliberately jumped from a ship taking him to the frontline Matsu islands will focus on why he put on a life jacket before he fell in.
The army said yesterday it was eager to find out why private first class Liu Chin-hung (
"Liu said he put on the life jacket because he could not swim," army spokesman Major General Hsiao Ju-po (
However, the army said it had reason to doubt Liu's version of events.
"There was then no rule requiring soldiers on the ship to put on life jackets while moving on deck," Hsiao said.
"Liu's previous travel record on charter ships sailing between the Matsu islands and Taiwan proper did not indicate that he was in the habit of putting on a life jacket while on board," he said.
Hsiao was replying to media inquiries at a regular press conference of the Ministry of National Defense yesterday.
It was discovered that Liu was missing from a civil transport ship chartered by the army bound for the Matsu islands early on July 6. Two days later the army was notified that Liu had been rescued and sent to a hospital in Fujian Province.
The soldier returned to Matsu islands on Monday in the company of a PFP lawmaker and several administrative chiefs of the Matsu region, who volunteered to go to China to handle the affair.
On his return, Liu dodged questions about whether he had planned to defect to China, insisting he had fallen into the sea by accident.
The Matsu branch of the military prosecutors' office is now investigating the case.
Hsiao said the army doubted Liu's explanation of what had happened, but declined to elaborate.
Another army official, who wished to remain anonymous, said that besides the life jacket, Liu also has to explain why he changed into civilian clothes before he fell into the sea.
All the soldiers on Liu's ship, the Hofu Express, wore military uniforms throughout the journey, he said.
Liu was reported by some newspapers to have written in his diary that he wanted to seek a Buddhist career in China.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS