Former New Taipei City deputy mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) was on Thursday criticized by the Nylon Cheng Liberty Foundation over comments he made about his involvement in an incident in 1989 which led to democracy activist Deng Nan-jung’s (鄭南榕) self-immolation.
Hou was clearly avoiding taking any responsibility because of his participation in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) New Taipei City mayoral primary, the foundation said in a statement in response to remarks Hou made in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) that he was only following orders when he led a group of police officers who surrounded and attempted to enter Deng’s office at Freedom Era Weekly (自由時代) magazine in January 1989.
Deng was charged with sedition for publishing a draft “Taiwan Republic Constitution” in his magazine.
On April 7, 1989, the 71st day of his self-imprisonment at the magazine, Deng set himself on fire.
At the time Hou was head of the Taipei Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division.
In the interview Hou said that, apart from attempting to make a warranted arrest, the police’s mission was also about saving a life, adding that it was “not completely successful.”
Deng had publicly declared at the time that “the KMT will only take my body; they will never take me alive,” the foundation said, adding that Hou should have understood that clear message.
“Former Nazi SS member Oskar Groening never personally killed anyone, but in 2015, at the age of 94, he was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of 300,000 people and sentenced to four years in prison for his involvement in the genocide at the Auschwitz concentration camp,” the foundation said.
Hou’s claim that he was trying to “save a life” is hypocritical and is an attempt to cover up the truth, the foundation added.
“Avoiding the truth of the past is a secondary injury,” Deng Nan-jung’s daughter, Deng Chu-mei (鄭竹梅), said in a statement issued by the foundation in response to Hou’s comments.
As potential a candidate for a mayoral position, [Hou] should explain in detail his philosophy about the past so that it can be assessed by voters, Deng Chu-mei said.
Hou should not use upsetting Deng Nan-jung’s family as an excuse to avoid talking about it, she added.
When asked about the foundation and Deng Chu-mei’s response, Hou said he understands, embraces and respects the opinions of Deng Nan-jung’s family.
Additional reporting by Yeh Kuan-yu
EVA Airways was ranked the eighth-best airline in the world for this year, the only Taiwanese carrier to make it into the top 25 Airline Excellence Awards this year, aviation reviews Web site AirlineRatings.com said on Wednesday. AirlineRatings.com has a seven-star rating system to evaluate more than 360 airlines around the world every year, EVA Airways said in a statement on Thursday. “We are delighted that efforts by the entire EVA staff have been recognized by Airline Ratings,” EVA Airways president Clay Sun (孫嘉明) said in the release. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company identified and adopted services and procedures that enhance and
Exiled Chinese democracy advocate Wang Dan (王丹) yesterday denied an accusation by former Taiwanese political worker Lee Yuan-chun (李援軍) that Wang had sexually harassed him in a hotel room in New York nine years ago. There was a huge gap between Lee’s accusation and his own understanding and memory, Wang wrote on Facebook, adding it was hard for him to respond further regarding a “unilateral description” made by someone else. Wang made the remarks after his initial response on Facebook was met with criticism, with people saying he did not directly address the allegation. Lee on Friday wrote on Facebook that he
‘NEGLIGENCE’: After reporting the incident, her superior allegedly asked her why she did not scream, which was an inappropriate attempt to ignore the allegations, critics said An accusation of sexual harassment led to the resignation of a top Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) official, while President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has called for a thorough investigation into the incident involving a contractor. Vice President and DPP Chairman William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said he approved the resignation of DPP deputy secretary-general Hsu Chia-tien (許嘉恬), who headed the party’s Women’s Development Department when the alleged incident happened in September last year. “Gender equality is among our party’s core values, that we have strived for and advanced along with Taiwanese society,” Lai said. “The DPP did not handle it appropriately at the time,
#METOO MOVEMENT: A woman who formerly worked at the TPP said that she was repeatedly harassed by a party deputy secretary last year and it was covered up Vice President and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman William Lai (賴清德) yesterday announced new party procedures for filing complaints and investigating reports of sexual misconduct in response to more accusations of negligence against the party in handling reports of sexual abuse. In what local media dubbed Taiwan’s #MeToo movement, more people went public yesterday with allegations about the DPP, other parties and local governments. Lai said he deeply regrets the situation and apologized to the victims, while also praising them for having the courage to come forward. “When facing bullying and violations in the workplace, it is most important to stand up to