Backed by people from her hometown, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Yin Ling-ying (
Chanting "protecting Yin Ling-ying, opposing black gold," about 130 people who had been brought in by buses from Yin's hometown of Linnei Township, Yunlin County, yesterday showed their support for Yin at the legislative compound.
Yin claims Chang slapped her in the face in Geneva while the two were there to lobby support for the nation's ninth bid to enter the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer. Chang had previously told reporters that Yin was "fantasizing" about what had happened.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The two women flew home on the same flight at around 6am yesterday. Both were greeted by their husbands at the airport and later by their supporters in Taipei and Yunlin, respectively.
According to Yin, Chang slapped her without any reason on the night of May 15 when she and other members of the Taiwanese delegation returned from a dinner party hosted by Lin Yi-fu (林義夫), the nation's new representative to the WTO headquarters.
Yin said Chang slapped her and then told her, "You have to be responsible for what you did. Wait and see if you dare to talk about the incinerator case again."
Earlier this month, Chang's brother, former Yunlin County commissioner Chang Jung-wei (
Last July, Linnei Township warden Chen Ho-shan (陳河山) admitted that he had worked with Chang Jung-wei on the project and had accepted a total of NT$18 million from contractors. Chang Jung-wei went into hiding after prosecutors summoned him for questioning last June. He and was arrested in December.
Yin, who failed in two attempts to take the incinerator case to court, managed to show the prosecutor the operational plan of the incinerator, listing various enormously inflated expenses.
Producing a copy of a hand-written injury examination from a hospital in Geneva, Yin yesterday said that she has asked her lawyer to request a copy of the hotel's surveillance tape and to file a criminal lawsuit against Chang Li-shan in Geneva.
"I considered settling the matter out of court, but I eventually decided to file the lawsuit anyway after she accused me of `fantasizing' it," Yin said.
"It's shameful that this incident has become an international farce and the county's unique gangster and hooligan culture has made a name in the international arena," she said.
Chang Li-shan yesterday tearfully admitted at a press conference that she had indeed struck Yin, but claimed that she had been provoked by Yin's "improper talk" about her brother.
"Every single word she said at the dinner table deeply hurt my feelings," she said. "I was so distraught that I was trembling and in a cold sweat the whole time."
Chang Li-shan claimed that Yin vilified her brother during the dinner and that she slapped her as a "friendly reminder" to respect the dignity of her imprisoned brother.
However, Yin said that she had not mentioned either Chang's name at the dinner table, although someone did compliment her on her courage to expose the scandal.
"I told the person that it is my duty to do so and that there is much room for improvement in the nation's handling of black-gold politics and judicial reform," she said.
"I'm very curious to know why anyone deserves a slap in the face if they mention the incinerator scandal."
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
MINOR DISRUPTION: The outage affected check-in and security screening, while passport control was done manually and runway operations continued unaffected The main departure hall and other parts of Terminal 2 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport lost power on Tuesday, causing confusion among passengers before electricity was fully restored more than an hour later. The outage, the cause of which is still being investigated, began at about midday and affected parts of Terminal 2, including the check-in gates, the security screening area and some duty-free shops. Parts of the terminal immediately activated backup power sources, while others remained dark until power was restored in some of the affected areas starting at 12:23pm. Power was fully restored at 1:13pm. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a