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.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
RSS