Leaders across party lines yesterday condemned a former lawmaker for physically attacking a political commentator during a live TV news talk show on Thursday night.
Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Lin Cheng-chieh (林正杰), a guest on a live TV talk show, slapped and kicked another commentator, Contemporary Monthly magazine editor Chin Heng-wei (金恆煒), during a debate on whether President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) should quit over allegations of corruption.
The fight was repeatedly broadcast yesterday on local cable TV channels.
The fight started after Chin interrupted Lin on The People Talk program on Formosa TV on Thursday night. Annoyed, Lin responded by slapping and kicking Chin.
Lin, who quit the DPP in 1990, is a strong supporter of the campaign led by former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (
The fight on Thursday night compelled the program's moderator to suspend the live talk show broadcast. When it resumed Lin apologized for disturbing the show, but threatened that ``if Chin Heng-wei does not change his behavior, I will hit him again.''
TV footage showed Chin leaving the studio with his nose bleeding. Chen received emergency treatment at a hospital, including five stitches to his nose.
"This [Lin attacking Chin] is absurd and unacceptable," Premier Su Tseng-chang (
Su urged Shih and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"Since [the Taipei City Government] approved the request, they are responsible for ensuring that it will be a peaceful activity and that everything will be under control," Su said.
Ma, who also doubles as chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), yesterday condemned the violence and promised that as Taipei mayor, he would not allow any kind of violence during the upcoming anti-Chen protest.
"We will not tolerate any kind of violence during the street demonstration," Ma said.
"Everyone hopes that President Chen will step down, but this goal should never be pursued through violent means," the Taipei mayor said.
DPP city councilors, however, blamed the mayor for rousing political sentiment by donating NT$100 to the sit-in protest initiated by Shih.
"[The incident] is a result of your donation, and your approval of the protest to be staged 24 hours has turned Taipei into a killing field," DPP City Councilor Lee Wen-ying (李文英) told Ma yesterday during a question-and-answer session at the Taipei City Hall.
"What's my donation have to do with the incident? ... A million people donated the money, how can you blame me alone?" Ma fired back at Lee.
DPP City Councilor Hsu Chia-ching (
"I didn't ask Lin to beat Chin up when I donated the money," Ma said.
A group of DPP lawmakers called on Shih to call off his anti-president campaign to avoid potential conflicts. They also urged Ma to rescind the permission allowing a round-the-clock protest.
"Lin's beating of Chin was not just about Lin himself. Behind Lin are Wang Lan (王蘭) and `The Angel.' I don't think Shih can control the strength of the anti-Bian [Chen's nickname] movement," said DPP Legislator Wang Shih-cheng (王世堅), referring to the gangster's participation.
Wang Lan is the ex-wife of the gangster, Chu Chia-hsun (朱家訓), the former leader of the Bamboo Union's Tiger Division (竹聯幫). "The Angel" refers to a gang of people organized by the Bamboo Union's former leader Chang An-le (張安樂).
DPP Legislator Hung Chi-chang (
Former DPP legislator Tuan Yi-kang (
However, DPP lawmakers Wang Sing-nan (
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
UNWAVERING: Paraguay remains steadfast in its support of Taiwan, but is facing growing pressure at home and abroad to switch recognition to Beijing, Pena said Paraguayan President Santiago Pena has pledged to continue enhancing cooperation with Taiwan, as he and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait using force, Japanese media reported on Saturday. Kishida yesterday completed a trip to France, Brazil and Paraguay, his first visit to South America since taking office in 2021. After the Japanese leader and Pena spoke for more than an hour on Friday, exchanging views on the situation in East Asia in the face of China’s increasing military pressure on Taiwan, they affirmed that “unilateral attempts to change the