A Taiwanese-American apologized in Taoyuan on Friday after stirring up public anger by allegedly physically and verbally threatening a bus driver with a string of expletives in English.
Jackson Chu reportedly called the Taoyuan Bus Co to say he wished to apologize to the driver, Chen Chin-chi (陳金積), in private. The company rejected the plea and instead insisted that Chu make a public apology at a police station.
Chu presented himself at Taoyuan’s Lungan Police precinct on Friday afternoon, where he read a statement in what was described as “poor Mandarin Chinese interspersed with English,” according to media reports.
Photo: Cheng Shu-ting, Taipei Times
He said that he was sorry for his actions and that it was wrong to act in such an impolite manner, using “bad words” to threaten the bus driver. He added that he did not control his emotions at the time.
Chu rode the No. 1 Taoyuan bus on Monday evening last week and reportedly became upset because he thought the bus driver passed his desired stop.
A video recording of the alleged incident showed Chu apparently threatening the bus driver, yelling expletives in English and pushing up against the driver in a threatening manner.
Chu’s wife was standing nearby.
When the video was posted online, it caused a furor, as most people considered Chu’s actions threatening to the bus driver and meriting criminal charges for his alleged verbal threats and endangering the other passengers.
Netizens were also particularly irked at Chu’s swearing with what they described as “nasty words” in English.
The video led to heated discussions before Chu drew more public ire by threatening to sue a female university student surnamed Lin (林), who Chu said posted the video on the Internet.
In response to Chu’s apology, Chen said: “We are a happy country; he is our guest and we welcome him to take our bus. He has said sorry and that will do.”
Chen added that although he did not understand all of Chu’s Chinese, he could feel his sincerity.
The bus company, which had earlier decided to file a lawsuit against Chu, said the incident “has come to a happy conclusion” and that it would drop the lawsuit.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
RSS