Taipei Police detained ex-convict Tung Nien-tai (董念台) for questioning yesterday. Tung is facing charges related to endangering public safety, for sending threatening text messages to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers and saying he would form a “Black Eagle” paramilitary group (黑鷹部隊) to wipe out the Bluebird movement (青鳥行動) protesters.
Tung, 75, was first questioned by police investigators and then taken to Taipei prosecutors. He was later released upon posting a NT$30,000 (US$973) bail, while police have ordered increased protection for all lawmakers, including enhanced patrol and safety measures around the Legislative Yuan, as well as at their offices and residences.
A former prison inmate with a connection to organized crime, Tung has served several sentences and has been convicted of fraud, blackmail and other offenses. He also engaged in the debt-collection business, conducted protests affiliated with the blue political camp and recently joined the pro-China Unification Promotion Party.
Photo: Chen Tsai-ling, Taipei Times
Tung had sent text messages to DPP lawmakers on Wednesday.
“The Bluebirds are dumb kids who surrounded the legislature to support the DPP,” Tung said. “They also threatened lawmakers of the blue and white camps, acting like political soldiers under the instruction of pro-Taiwan independence President William Lai (賴清德).”
“We are forming the ‘Black Eagle’ paramilitary group, and wiping out the Bluebirds is our main aim,” he said.
“People have different political stances and viewpoints, but they should respect each other when participating in protests and public events. When someone makes verbal threats and uses online talks to interfere with legal gatherings, the police force would uphold the law and investigate it,” Taipei Zhongzheng First Precinct Police Chief Chang Chia-huang (張嘉煌) said.
Tung is facing charges of contravening Article 151 of the Criminal Code, which states: “A person who endangers public safety by putting the public in fear of injury to life, body or property,” and Article 305: “A person who threatens to cause injury to the life, body, freedom, reputation or property of another.”
Public prosecutors asked the public to maintain good conduct and be reasonable when dealing with political issues, and not threaten violence against people.
In Tung’s message, he also said members of the “Black Eagle” group would be comprised of ex-convicts, who would go to protests organized by the Bluebird movement groups to counter “dumb kids who are too arrogant, who wallow in their own self-importance.”
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS