Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Arthur Chen (陳宜民) yesterday apologized for pushing a female police officer during a protest at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Taipei on Friday last week.
Chen, who said he had earlier apologized in a Facebook post, bowed and said that he was sorry for making the police officer uncomfortable as a result of his actions and for the attention the event has brought her.
In the protest, a group of KMT lawmakers and city councilors attempted to enter the building to demand that Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) explain the suicide last year of then-director-general of the Osaka branch of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Japan Su Chii-cherng (蘇啟誠).
Photo copied by Chen Yun, Taipei Times
However, police at the main entrance blocked the KMT members and a scuffle ensued.
Footage from the incident appeared to show Chen asking the police officer for the name of her unit and then knocking her cap off before pushing her.
Chen said he hoped that the incident would not obscure the message of the protest.
The KMT politicians involved in the protest said that they wanted the ministry to be held accountable for Su’s death after Yang Hui-ju (楊蕙如), a former campaign aide to Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), was on Tuesday last week indicted on charges of hiring people to influence public opinion online, and attack or deride opponents.
Yang allegedly directed an online campaign to defend Hsieh by accusing Su of dereliction of duty and failing to help Taiwanese stuck at Japan’s Kansai Airport when Typhoon Jebi hit the nation on Sept. 4 last year.
The accusations stemmed from a fabricated news story that the Chinese embassy in Japan sent buses to evacuate Chinese stranded at the airport.
Although the report was later proven to be false, it sparked criticism of perceived inaction by the ministry.
The hired Internet team allegedly called Su and other branch personnel “festering remnants of the party-state ruled by the KMT,” and wished death upon them, which some said might have contributed to Su committing suicide at his residence in Osaka eight days later.
Yang has not publicly spoken on the matter.
KMT lawmakers have also questioned the source of her funding.
Chinese Taipei Tennis Association board member Chao An-hua (趙安華) on Monday filed a judicial complaint accusing Yang of forgery and financial irregularities for allegedly pocketing NT$90 million (US$2.97 million) in government subsidies related to her organizing the Women’s Tennis Association Taiwan Open in Kaohsiung in 2016, and in Taipei in 2017 and last year.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is considering revoking her party membership, DPP Taipei City chapter director Chen Cheng-te (陳正德) said.
A decision on Yang’s membership would follow the outcome of an investigation by Taipei prosecutors, Chen said after presiding over a chapter executive committee meeting on Tuesday.
“We have to abide by the principle of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, so it will be up to the judicial ruling on Yang’s case,” he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese