The honeymoon for Minister of the Interior Su Jia-chyuan (
Hostile legislators blasted the incoming minister as incompetent as he delivered a report in the Legislative Yuan yesterday.
Without identifying Su's indiscretions, the legislators openly doubted Su's ability to maintain law and order and whether the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) would be able to identify the perpetrator of the March 19 assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian (
"I bet you won't be able to get to the bottom of the assassination attempt within one year. If you do, I promise to commit suicide. Are you willing to make the bet with me?" asked independent Legislator Chu Hsing-yu (
The session was meant to discuss police involvement in the pan-blue camp's April 10 rally in Taipei, which ended in violent protest and gangster infiltration, and the MOI's investigation into the assassination attempt on Chen and Lu.
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Shen Chih-hui (沈智慧), who was injured during the April 10 protest, demanded that Taipei police issue a public apology by the end of the day, complete with a press release, for causing her injuries and those of other PFP legislators, and for suggesting her driver had connections to organized crime groups.
Although the subject of the session was the assassination attempt and protest, many legislators focused instead on the robbing of Su's wife, Hung Heng-chu (
Referring to the incident, PFP legislators questioned Su's ability to maintain order on a national scale.
PFP Legislator Lee Ching-hua (
"What could be expected for national security under Su?" Lee asked.
"If I were able to fix the nation's security problems within 10 days, then surely I would be God," Su replied.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by