A former legislator was shot and injured yesterday morning after jumping from a car to escape a kidnapping attempt.
Police said Lee Sen-zong (李顯榮) was in stable condition after undergoing medical treatment.
Lee is a former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker who switched allegiance to the Democratic Progressive Party last year after failing to win the KMT's nomination. He was defeated in last month's legislative elections.
National Police Agency (NPA) Director Hou You-yi (
Quoting Lee, police said he noticed a white car following him. The white car hit Lee's car, forcing him to stop, and two armed men got out of the vehicle and jumped inside his car. One of the suspects took control of his car and drove toward a mountainous area in Linkou (
When the car passed by a police car parked in front of a convenience store, Lee took a chance and jumped out of the moving vehicle, police said.
One of the suspects fired two gunshots at Lee, with one hitting him in the shoulder. Lee was rushed to National Taiwan University Hospital by police.
Police said the two suspects abandoned the car and fled.
Lee said in an interview with the police that he did not know the two suspects, who said they wanted a ransom of NT$100,000 (US$3,000) after forcing him into the backseat of his car.
Hou said that according to Lee, the two men were in their twenties, spoke Taiwanese and said their boss, nicknamed A-Ming (
Lee told police he was able to clearly see the faces of the two suspects.
Hou said police were investigating whether the kidnapping was related to the election or a financial dispute.
Lee said that he was not in dispute with anyone, Hou said.
Later yesterday, police found that the white car used by the suspects was leased by a man surnamed Tseng from a car rental firm in Banciao (
The hospital refused to disclose details about Lee's condition, but confirmed that the bullet was not lodged in his body and that he was not in critical condition.
Hospital spokesman Tan Ching-ting (譚慶鼎) was quoted by the Central News Agency as saying that it had not been authorized to release details about Lee's condition.
Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang (
"The police have found many items, including bullet casings, at the crime scene. We'll examine what we've found, identify the target and close in," Hou said.
"I'm sure we'll find out what happened and catch the suspects soon," Hou said.
Politicians across party lines yesterday expressed their concern and wished Lee a speedy recovery.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LOA IOK-SIN, JENNY W. HSU AND ANGELICA OUNG
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
MAKING PROGRESS: Officials and industry leaders who participated in a defense forum last month agreed that Taiwan has the capabilities to work with the US, the report said Taiwan’s high-tech defense industry is to enhance collaboration with the US to produce weapons needed for self-defense, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report to the Legislative Yuan. Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) discussed building regional and global industry alliances with US partners at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Philadelphia held from Sept. 22 to Tuesday last week, the ministry said in the declassified portion of the report. The visit contributed to maintaining bilateral ties, facilitated Taiwan’s efforts to acquire weapons and equipment, and strengthened the resilience of the two nation’s defense industries, it said. Taiwan-US ties
CONCERNS: Allowing the government, political parties or the military to own up to 10 percent of a large media firm is a risk Taiwan cannot afford to take, a lawyer said A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has proposed amendments to allow the government, political parties and the military to indirectly invest in broadcast media, prompting concerns of potential political interference. Under Article 1 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the government and political parties — as well as foundations established with their endowments, and those commissioned by them — cannot directly or indirectly invest in satellite broadcasting businesses. A similar regulation is in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法). “The purpose of banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media is to prevent them from interfering