Taiwan politician indicted for attacking Beijing envoy
Agence France-Presse in Taipei 30 October 2008
A Taiwanese pro-independence politician was indicted on Thursday for attacking a Beijing envoy during his visit to the island, a prosecutor said.
“Wang Ting-yu rallied a crowd and used violent means to intimidate and assault Zhang Mingqing which caused him to fall to the ground and be injured,” said Lee Ching-wen, a spokeswoman for the Tainan district prosecutor’s office.
Wang, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) councillor in southern Tainan city, faces a 14-month jail term if convicted of the charges, which include assault.
Mr Zhang, vice president of Beijing’s quasi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, was jostled and shoved to the ground by Mr Wang and his supporters while visiting Tainan – a DPP stronghold.
Mr Wang has insisted Mr Zhang simply tripped, a position supported by the DPP.
The episode triggered an angry response from the central government, which demanded Taiwan severely punish the pro-independence activists.
Tainan’s city police chief was demoted and several suspects have been questioned by prosecutors in the wake of the incident.
Taiwan politician indicted for attacking Beijing envoy
ReplyDeleteAgence France-Presse in Taipei
30 October 2008
A Taiwanese pro-independence politician was indicted on Thursday for attacking a Beijing envoy during his visit to the island, a prosecutor said.
“Wang Ting-yu rallied a crowd and used violent means to intimidate and assault Zhang Mingqing which caused him to fall to the ground and be injured,” said Lee Ching-wen, a spokeswoman for the Tainan district prosecutor’s office.
Wang, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) councillor in southern Tainan city, faces a 14-month jail term if convicted of the charges, which include assault.
Mr Zhang, vice president of Beijing’s quasi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, was jostled and shoved to the ground by Mr Wang and his supporters while visiting Tainan – a DPP stronghold.
Mr Wang has insisted Mr Zhang simply tripped, a position supported by the DPP.
The episode triggered an angry response from the central government, which demanded Taiwan severely punish the pro-independence activists.
Tainan’s city police chief was demoted and several suspects have been questioned by prosecutors in the wake of the incident.