Backed by people from her hometown, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Yin Ling-ying (
Chanting "protecting Yin Ling-ying, opposing black gold," about 130 people who had been brought in by buses from Yin's hometown of Linnei Township, Yunlin County, yesterday showed their support for Yin at the legislative compound.
Yin claims Chang slapped her in the face in Geneva while the two were there to lobby support for the nation's ninth bid to enter the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer. Chang had previously told reporters that Yin was "fantasizing" about what had happened.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The two women flew home on the same flight at around 6am yesterday. Both were greeted by their husbands at the airport and later by their supporters in Taipei and Yunlin, respectively.
According to Yin, Chang slapped her without any reason on the night of May 15 when she and other members of the Taiwanese delegation returned from a dinner party hosted by Lin Yi-fu (林義夫), the nation's new representative to the WTO headquarters.
Yin said Chang slapped her and then told her, "You have to be responsible for what you did. Wait and see if you dare to talk about the incinerator case again."
Earlier this month, Chang's brother, former Yunlin County commissioner Chang Jung-wei (
Last July, Linnei Township warden Chen Ho-shan (陳河山) admitted that he had worked with Chang Jung-wei on the project and had accepted a total of NT$18 million from contractors. Chang Jung-wei went into hiding after prosecutors summoned him for questioning last June. He and was arrested in December.
Yin, who failed in two attempts to take the incinerator case to court, managed to show the prosecutor the operational plan of the incinerator, listing various enormously inflated expenses.
Producing a copy of a hand-written injury examination from a hospital in Geneva, Yin yesterday said that she has asked her lawyer to request a copy of the hotel's surveillance tape and to file a criminal lawsuit against Chang Li-shan in Geneva.
"I considered settling the matter out of court, but I eventually decided to file the lawsuit anyway after she accused me of `fantasizing' it," Yin said.
"It's shameful that this incident has become an international farce and the county's unique gangster and hooligan culture has made a name in the international arena," she said.
Chang Li-shan yesterday tearfully admitted at a press conference that she had indeed struck Yin, but claimed that she had been provoked by Yin's "improper talk" about her brother.
"Every single word she said at the dinner table deeply hurt my feelings," she said. "I was so distraught that I was trembling and in a cold sweat the whole time."
Chang Li-shan claimed that Yin vilified her brother during the dinner and that she slapped her as a "friendly reminder" to respect the dignity of her imprisoned brother.
However, Yin said that she had not mentioned either Chang's name at the dinner table, although someone did compliment her on her courage to expose the scandal.
"I told the person that it is my duty to do so and that there is much room for improvement in the nation's handling of black-gold politics and judicial reform," she said.
"I'm very curious to know why anyone deserves a slap in the face if they mention the incinerator scandal."
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