Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday demanded prosecutors re-investigate the election-eve shooting of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) on March 19, 2004.
The demand came after arms maker Tang Shou-yi (唐守義), who is living in China, retracted the confession he originally made to prosecutors and disclosed what he called "the truth" in a letter to reporters and KMT Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華).
Tang said the 319 shooting investigation report was fabricated by the police, and he was asked to say what the police wanted when he made his statement.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) met me several times and implied that I had to act in accordance with their "plot," Tang said in a letter to Lee.
"I was told by the police that I would be released if I cooperated with them and promised to leave the country soon after," Tang said in the letter.
"Five days after my release, I got a phone call from the prosecutors. They wanted to know when I would leave Taiwan. I told them I needed to spend some time with my family," he said.
Tang, who was imprisoned for fraud last year, completed his sentence in May and fled to China in August.
KMT Legislator Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) told a press conference that Tang's accusation was entirely plausible.
"Why else would prosecutors suggest a six-and-a-half-year sentence for him for arms making without prohibiting him from leaving the country," Tsai said.
Prosecutors closed the investigation into the 319 shooting last August, concluding that a dead construction worker, Chen Yi-hsiung (陳義雄), who was filmed standing near the shooting scene, was entirely responsible for the assassination attempt.
Tang alleged that Chen Yi-hsiung wasn't at the scene when the gun was fired and the scar left on the president's belly was not caused by the gun he made.
However, NPA Deputy Director-General Hung Sheng-kun rebutted Tang's accusations in a press conference, saying that there were no irregularities during the investigation.
Kuo Chen-ni (郭珍妮), a spokeswoman for the Tainan District Prosecutors' Office, yesterday told a press conference that people should trust forensic expert Henry Lee (李昌鈺), who assisted in the reconstruction of the crime scene and the forensic examinations, before publishing a report that said the shooting was genuine.
"Should we believe a prestigious forensic expert, or a wanted man?" Kuo added.
Tang's statements during the investigation were recorded by prosecutors and police in accordance with the law, and his statements were cross-checked before prosecutors came to the conclusion they were the truth, she said, adding that Tang's accusations were "groundless."
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday accused Tang of collaborating with the KMT and China in a bid to influence Saturday's mayoral elections.
DPP Legislator Tsai Chi-fang (蔡啟芳) told a press conference that Tang, who is in China, contradicted himself by saying in the letter that the bullet found by the police at the scene of the shooting was made by him while the wound on President Chen's body was not a match with that bullet.
Tsai said the contradiction resulted from Tang's failure to explain why his bullet ended up being found on Chen's person.
DPP Legislator Yu Jan-daw (余政道), who was also present at the conference, said the KMT was trying to influence the results of the election by employing the same tactics it used before the presidential election in 2004, when it had fugitive tycoon Chen Yu-hao (陳由豪) make groundless accusations against the president.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS