The National Police Agency (NPA) yesterday said it is investigating if aviation police properly handled the violent clashes at CKS International Airport between supporters and opponents of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
A spokesman said that NPA Director-General Shieh Ing-dan (
Hsieh wants to know as soon as possible if any aviation police were negligent, the spokesman said.
Several legislators have expressed their discontent over the way aviation police handled the scuffles between the rival supporters, noting that some people carried banners, sticks and firecrackers into the airport terminal, which they said violated the law and was a smear on the nation's image.
The medical-aid station at the airport estimated that 15 people were injured during the melee, mostly suffering head injuries, while two more seriously injured people were taken to hospital for further observation.
Meanwhile, the Aviation Police Office expressed its sympathy to people who were injured in the incident, adding that it would track down those who triggered the disturbances by reviewing videotapes and photos taken during the fracas.
Aviation Police Office head Chen Juei-tien (陳瑞添) said that as the airport was an open area, it had not been cordoned off in consideration of passengers.
This was why some of the protesters were able to carry hazardous items into the departure area, he said.
Chen admitted there might have been negligence and lapses in judgment in the police's handling of the situation.
Stressing the police had communicated beforehand with the groups in question, Chen said the police had hoped that they would exercise self-restraint and that their supporters would be rational.
He said that because of the lapse in security, eggs, sticks, rocks, knives, swords and firecrackers were brought into the airport terminal.
Supporters mobilized by the pro-independence Taiwan Solidarity Union, an ally of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and the pro-unification New Party and other supporters converged at the airport ahead of Lien's departure at 10:55am.
Aviation police originally hoped to have the pan-blue alliance stay outside the departure lobby, while the pan-green camp was to stay in a parking lot in the west wing of the airport compound.
But DPP Legislator Wang Shih-chien (
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV