Three US forensic scientists yesterday said that President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) stomach wound was caused by a gunshot.
"All three of us agree that the president sustained a gunshot wound," Cyril Wecht, a respected forensic scientist, told reporters.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Flanked by trajectory analyst Michael Haag and crime-scene-identification analyst Timothy Palmbach, Wecht said that the trio had visited Chen at the Presidential Office yesterday morning and carried out a careful examination of the president's wound.
"We are forensic scientists and we make sure what and how the suspect caused the damage or injury," Wecht said. "But we are not here to decide who committed the crime. In addition, we are not law enforcement officers in Taiwan. We are independent forensic scientists and we are here to assist local law enforcement officers with their investigations."
Chen and his vice president were wounded by what police suspect to be two bullets fired during a street rally in Tainan the day before the presidential election.
Palmbach endorsed a preliminary investigation by the National Police Administration's Criminal Investigation Bureau, which said that it would be difficult to identify the pistol that fired the shots because of the poor quality of the homemade bullets.
Since arriving in Taiwan on Monday, the scientists have been accompanied by cable channel ETTV executive director Joanna Lei (雷倩), whose company organized a press conference for the visiting experts yesterday.
Democratic Progressive Party politicians, however, have questioned Lei's role in the investigation because of her political background.
Lei unsuccessfully ran in the 2001 legislative election for the New Party.
"I did not join in any discussion about the case while they were talking to officers or prosecutors," Lei said. "I simply helped them translate when necessary."
Wecht told reporters: "You guys have been working hard with us wherever we were so there are no secrets about who we met or what we did during our stay here in Taiwan."
Wecht, who has disputed the official Warren Commission report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, said that it would take two weeks for the scientists to complete their work and that they would hand the results to Dr. Henry (李昌鈺) before he comes to Taipei sometime around April 13.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as