A press conference at the legislature yesterday on behalf of bakeries that have suffered losses in the wake of the melamine food scare turned into a clash between blue and green lawmakers, ending with the health minister checking into a hospital.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers accused each other of grabbing Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川), minister of the Department of Health, by the neck and throttling him.
KMT Legislator Chang Shuo-wen (張碩文), who was with Yeh when the scuffle erupted, said DPP lawmakers tried to prevent Yeh from leaving the legislative floor after a meeting with bakery owners and lawmakers over the government’s response to the public health scare caused by melamine-contaminated food imported from China.
PHOTO: CNA
Chang accused DPP caucus whip Pan Men-an (潘孟安) and DPP Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清) of starting the scuffle.
“I went up there to protect Yeh. Although I didn’t see anyone throwing a punch, I was sorry about the chaos and felt uncomfortable because DPP lawmakers were also pulling at my tie,” Chang said.
BREATHING PROBLEM
“We condemn the DPP ... Someone grabbed the minister by the neck and he could hardly breathe,” he said.
KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) also demanded that DPP lawmakers apologize for intruding into the press conference hosted by KMT lawmakers.
The DPP caucus denied its lawmakers grabbed Yeh by the neck.
Pan said he was just trying to ask Yeh why he declined to attend the caucus’ meeting yesterday morning to give a briefing on the melamine controversy.
Pan said that Lin’s wife, Peng Ai-chia (彭愛佳), a reporter with China Television Co, was to blame for the clash because she began yelling: “Why hit people? How could you hit people?”
“I didn’t hit anybody. KMT Legislator Chang Sho-wen put his hands on Yeh’s neck and DOH official Luo Mu-tsai (羅木才) grabbed Yeh’s hands,” Pan said.
Yeh, who assumed the post of health minister, was suffering from dizziness, cardiopalmus and high blood pressure when he arrived at the National Taiwan University Hospital, hospital spokesman Tan Ching-Ting (譚慶鼎) said, adding that Yeh’s blood pressure rose to 160/100mmHg.
Doctors recommended that Yeh stay in the hospital for further observation, Tan said.
“We condemn any form of violence. The public would not want to see this kind of behavior in the legislature,” Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) told reporters after visiting Yeh at the hospital.
The Citizen Congress Watch (CCW) staged a protest outside the legislature yesterday afternoon, accusing the lawmakers of behaving inappropriately.
CCW executive director Ho Tsung-hsun (何宗勳) said that some lawmakers “have used vulgar language in questioning officials” earlier and “even engaged in a physical clash” yesterday.
He said this type of behavior reflects badly on the legislature and shows that the “legislature still has a long way to go before becoming ‘civilized.’”
Ho said he believed those who clashed yesterday “have their reasons for doing so, but whatever those reasons may be, differences in opinion should be resolved through talk and debate, not violence.”
“No one benefits from violence — the lawmakers wouldn’t get the conflict settled and the public wouldn’t know what they were fighting over either,” he said.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said yesterday that Yeh had repeatedly ignored the caucus’ invitation to brief them on the food contamination scandal.
“We invited him sometime last week, but he never replied or visited us although he came to the legislature several times,” Ker said. “He is way too arrogant.”
Yeh was sworn in as health minister after Lin Fang-yue (林芳郁) resigned to take responsibility for the government’s inconsistent response to the crisis over melamine-spiked dairy products from China.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JIMMY CHUANG, LOA IOK-SIN AND SHELLEY HUANG
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College