A middle-aged man yesterday morning attempted to torch the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) headquarters, the Taipei City Police Department said, adding that they are still investigating his motive.
A 43-year-old man surnamed Tsai (蔡) broke into KMT headquarters and started a small fire, but was stopped by two security guards, police said.
One of the guards is in intensive care for observation after sustaining a smoke inhalation injury, police said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Tsai was a member of the Bamboo Union gang and has a criminal record for obstruction of liberty, fraud and threatening others, police said, adding that he might be indicted for breaching the Public Safety Act (公共危險罪).
Tsai entered the premise and shouted “Mind your own business” before pouring gasoline over the carpet and setting it ablaze, the guards said in their statements.
While being restrained by the guards, Tsai said he was a victim of KMT oppression, although he did not clarify how or why he was a victim, the party said.
Photo: CNA
Tsai reportedly said that he was expressing his dissatisfaction with the KMT’s inaction in the face of the Democratic Progressive Party government’s promise of a NT$4.5 billion (US$150.1 million) loan to Taiwan’s diplomatic ally Haiti.
The KMT regrets that the incident occurred and condemns any irrational violent behavior, it said in a statement, adding that it would step up security measures to prevent a similar incident.
It was not the first time that KMT headquarters have been attacked.
A man on Feb. 28, 2016, firebombed the building, leaving behind pamphlets saying that the KMT should return all property, assets and ill-gotten gains taken from Taiwanese.
Separately yesterday, a man smashed a bottle filled with gasoline on the front desk of the Ministry of Justice in Taipei.
The man entered the building at about 2:20pm and, expressing his dissatisfaction with Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san (邱太三), set fire to a paper bag and threw it at the front desk, police said.
When the flames quickly died out, he smashed a gasoline-filled bottle on the desk and attempted to light it with a cigarette lighter before security stopped him, they added.
Additional reporting by Liu Ching-hou and CNA
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to