Sean Lien’s (連勝文) speedy recovery from injuries sustained in a shooting on Friday has raised eyebrows, with an online petition calling for the release of his X-rays.
A National Taiwan University Hospital spokeswoman said on Saturday that a bullet entered the left side of Lien’s face and exited near his right temple.
However, there was speculation yesterday that some media sources may have exaggerated the extent of his injuries to affect the outcome of the election.
Wang Kuo-cheng (王國城), who practices medicine in Taipei County, expressed doubts over the nature of the wound, saying the recovery defied medical logic.
Wang said that having sustained a gunshot wound to the face, Lien should have been receiving doses of antibiotics, painkillers and injections of nutrients.
Reports that Lien has been able to talk, receive guests and eat solid foods within 40 hours of being shot is inconsistent with the alleged facts, not least because of the risk of infection, Wang said in comments quoted in the press.
A Netizen, identified as “Demogorgan,” pointed out that Lien would not have problems eating, as the bullet missed his oral cavity. However, the inflammation caused by the wound would have made opening and closing his mouth difficult, rendering it almost impossible to chew.
Another poster, named “zwx,” said that Lien would not have been allowed to chew while his stitches healed because of the risk of infection should the wound re-open.
Another Netizen, “Ririkaru,” recalled that when he was recovering from a broken leg, the pain had lasted for two weeks, during which he was only able to eat non-solid foods.
A page has been set up on Facebook petitioning NTU Hospital to release X-rays and pictures of Lien’s wound.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said the shooting might have been carried out by gangsters. Yeh wondered if gangsters had tried to affect the results of the special municipality elections for their own gains in election gambling.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) rebutted the speculation, calling it “ridiculous.”
Police sources said yesterday that initial investigations have found that the suspect arrested in connection with the shooting was not the plot’s mastermind.
The sources said Lin Cheng-wei (林正偉) is a “suicide gunman” and unlikely to reveal who was behind the shooting.
A senior police officer, who asked not to be named, said Lin probably received money and will be given another sum as “family comfort compensation” for carrying out the shooting.
Investigators believe that Lin had targeted Lien, although he said his target was Chen Hung-yuan (陳鴻源), the KMT Sinbei city council candidate Lien was stumping for at the time.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
‘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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS