The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) passed a resolution during its Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday asking the Ministry of Justice to put more effort into reopening the investigation of the 319 shooting incident.
KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) cited a public opinion poll and said he proposed the resolution in order to reveal the “truth” behind the incident.
“Tomorrow marks the fifth anniversary of the incident, and there is still a lot of mystery and suspicion surrounding the incident. As the ruling party, the KMT supports reopening the case,” Wu said at KMT headquarters.
The shooting happened during an afternoon motorcade by former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) in Tainan on March 19, 2004, one day before the presidential poll. Chen and Lu, standing in a Jeep, were both shot.
The authorities identified the shooter as Chen Yi-hsiung (陳義雄), who was found dead 10 days after the incident.
The KMT has questioned the incident, calling it an election scheme, and the legislature convened a 319 Shooting Truth Investigation Special Committee, convened by now Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) to probe the case.
In August 2005, the Tainan Public Prosecutor's Office closed the case after concluding that Chen Yi-hsiung, the lone suspect in the shooting, had committed suicide.
Wu said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had issued his support for the resolution and agreed that more personnel should be assigned by the ministry to probe the case.
“According to an opinion poll, more than 80 percent of the public don't believe the results of the investigation, and even former vice president Lu has challenged it. The ministry should include more staff to probe the case,” Wu said.
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