Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday said that it was he — not Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) New Taipei City mayoral candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜) — who in 1997 entered the residence of then-South African military attache McGill Alexander, negotiated with notorious kidnapper and convicted murderer Chen Ching-hsing (陳進興) and rescued the envoy and his family, whom Chen had held hostage.
Hsieh made the remarks in response to media queries about a comment made by former Presidential Office secretary-general Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭).
Yeh came under fire online for saying that Hsieh was the key figure behind Alexander’s family being released and accusing Hou of attempting to “take the credit” for the hostage crisis when he mentioned the incident at a campaign rally on Sunday.
Photo: Hung Ting-hung, Taipei Times
Hsieh, a lawyer, did not hold any public office at the time, while Hou was the Taipei Police Criminal Investigation Division chief sent to apprehend Chen.
Chen had demanded that Hsieh negotiate with him and promise to represent him in court in exchange for his surrender, as he had been angered by his wife and younger brother allegedly being tortured by police.
“Chu-lan told the truth,” Hsieh said on the sidelines of a campaign event for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁).
Asked whether Hou had entered Alexander’s home in Taipei and negotiated with Chen, Hsieh said Hou did not.
“An extensive area had been cordoned off by the police,” Hsieh said. “Hou was in a command post ... with some prosecutors, where he tried to talk to Chen on the phone.”
“I retrieved a gun and a hostage... I had brought [then-]Control Yuan member Yeh Yao-peng [葉耀鵬] in with me,” Hsieh said. “I handed the child to a police officer, who handed him to Hou. He showed up [in front of the media] with the child. Suddenly, all flashlights were on him.”
Hsieh said he would release an audio recording of the negotiation to prove that Hou was not part of it.
Responding to Yeh’s accusations, Hou on Wednesday said: “There were hundreds of reporters on the scene.”
Asked to comment on the matter yesterday, Hou urged people to review the footage taken that night.
Hsieh should be lauded for highlighting his contribution, but he did not need to draw attention to his legacy on the eve of the election, Hou’s campaign office later said.
In response to media queries for comments on Hsieh’s revelation, DPP New Taipei City mayoral candidate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said now that Hsieh has told the truth, “residents should take a few moments to think about what kind of person would better serve New Taipei City.”
Additional reporting by Sean Lin and Chen Hsin-yu
‘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