Police urged people to remain civil during political disputes and not resort to violence, after they yesterday tracked down a suspect who allegedly made death threats against Taoyuan City Councilor Wang Hao-yu (王浩宇) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the aftermath of the Kaohsiung mayoral recall election on Saturday last week.
Wang yesterday told Taoyuan police that he had received death threats for two consecutive days, and was fearful that someone might take action against him.
More than 200 supporters of former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Tuesday gathered in front of Wang’s office in Taoyuan’s Jhongli (中壢) District, and threw eggs and joss paper, also known as ghost money, at the office.
They were protesting statements Wang made online about late Kaohsiung City Council speaker Hsu Kun-yuan (許崑源), police said, adding that police intervened to prevent the situation from escalating.
The event stemmed from the recall election, in which Kaohsiung residents overwhelmingly voted to remove Han from office, with about 940,000 ballots cast against him.
Later that night, Hsu, a Han supporter, died after falling from his 17th-floor apartment.
Shortly after news reports of Hsu’s death, Wang posted about it on Facebook.
“Staunchly support Han Kuo-yu! Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Hsu Kun-yuan has died after falling from a building,” Wang wrote.
Protesters said the remarks were highly disrespectful, although Wang later deleted the message and said he did not mean any disrespect toward Hsu.
Although other public figures had made comments online about Hsu’s deaths, protesters focused on Wang, calling for a campaign to recall him from office.
Led by two prominent figures of Han supporter groups, Wu Yu-chuan (吳育全) and KMT Taoyuan City Councilor Chan Chiang-chun (詹江村), the crowd gathered in front of Wang’s office, and later moved to a farm shed, reportedly owned by Wang’s family, but Wang stayed away to avoid confrontation.
Afterward, the threats began, Wang said, adding that he is considering filing a complaint against the suspect, who police did not name.
Regarding the protest and the call for a recall campaign against him by Han’s supporters, Wang said: “To recall an elected official through a public vote is the right of citizens, but people must know that intimidation and threats are not protected by freedom of speech, and violent actions would severely harm Taiwan’s democracy.”
“Freedom of speech is the foundation of a democratic society, and I do not expect everyone to identify with me. However, for people who threaten someone’s personal security, we must not tolerate it, and must take legal action to fight against it,” he said.
Wang, 31, is part of a younger generation of politicians from the pan-green camp. He was previously elected as a city councilor as a Green Party member, and in 2018 was re-elected. He joined the DPP in February this year.
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