Peng Wan-ru's (
Unfortunately, blood and fingerprint tests which came back later in the day forced police to rule out the possibility that the dead man was indeed responsible for Peng's murder.
Peng, then the director of the DPP's women's affairs department, disappeared after getting into a taxi to attend a meeting the night before a DPP party convention in Kaohsiung on Nov. 30, 1996. Her body was found three days later outside an abandoned warehouse in Kaohsiung, naked and with more than 30 stab wounds. According to reports, she had been raped.
Police have never given up hope of catching her killer, which they still to this day believe was the taxi driver that picked Peng up that fateful night. Their investigation, however, has seen little progress in the past three years, resulting in scathing public criticism against perceived inefficiency. Several suspects in police custody have confessed to Peng's murder. All were dismissed after police found testimony or evidence inconsistent with the facts of the murder.
Yesterday morning, around 6am, investigators thought they had made a breakthrough after police reported finding the body of a man who had apparently asphyxiated himself inside his taxi in Taipei County's Shihting (
A plastic tube from the car's exhaust pipe was running into the cab, where Chen Tsai-fu (
"Please forgive me," the note added. "Dear wife -- I'm sorry, please bury my body."
After discovering the note, a joint task force was formed by police units from Kaohsiung and Taipei to look into the link with Peng's death. However, it was confirmed later in the day that results of tests on Chen's blood and fingerprints did not match those left by Peng's killer at the scene of the murder.
Police have not completely ruled out a link between Chen and the Peng murder and investigations are continuing.
Peng's 1996 murder came at a sensitive time for the government, as it took place soon after another high-profile killing -- the Nov. 21 assassination of former Taoyuan County Commissioner Liu Pang-yu (
Peng's murder also pushed on to the front burner of public opinion a number of stalled bills in the legislature relating to women's safety, which have since been passed. Her husband, Hung Wan-sheng (
Peng, who had been dedicated to women's issues and vigorously advocated women's political participation, had gone to Kaohsiung on Nov. 30 to persuade DPP representatives to adopt a party platform that would ensure it reserves a quarter of its candidates' slots in popular elections for women.
Peng's husband expressed his disappointment, saying there seemed to be little hope left. "Now we can only rely on God. If the killer is ever arrested, it will be thanks to God's mercy," Hung said.
"I've never given up hope that the case would be solved some day. But I've also come to terms with the reality that it is not something we can force," he said.
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
SUPPORT: Arms sales to NATO Plus countries such as Japan, South Korea and Israel only have to be approved by the US Congress if they exceed US$25m The US should amend a law to add Taiwan to the list of “NATO Plus” allies and streamline future arms sales, a US commission said on Tuesday in its annual report to the US Congress. The recommendation was made in the annual report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which contained chapters on US-China economic and trade ties, security relations, and Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the chapter on Taiwan, the commission urged the US Congress to “amend the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to include Taiwan on the list of ‘NATO Plus’ recipients,” referring to
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is
RSS