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Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Jail for pushing China envoy
Wang Ting-yu, a city councillor in the southern city of Tainan, received a four-month jail sentence for assault from the district court there on Monday, 11 months after the incident.
TAIPEI - A Taiwanese politician from a party favouring independence from China has been convicted of pushing a mainland envoy to the ground in an incident that infuriated Beijing, a court said Tuesday.
Wang Ting-yu, a city councillor in the southern city of Tainan, received a four-month jail sentence for assault from the district court there on Monday, 11 months after the incident.
He has the option to appeal or, as an alternative to jail, pay a fine of NT$1,000 (S$44) daily for four months.
Mr. Zhang Mingqing, the vice-president of China’s quasi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, was shoved to the ground by a crowd when he visited Tainan, a centre of anti-mainland feeling, in October last year.
‘In order to voice his independence and sovereignty claim, the defendant pushed and shoved Zhang Mingqing even though he was aware that Zhang could get hurt,’ court spokesman Wu Yung-hui told AFP.
The incident was caught on camera and triggered fury in Beijing, with the Chinese government calling for ‘severe punishment’ of those found guilty.
But Wang, from the Democratic Progressive Party, pleaded not guilty and said he would appeal.
‘The ruling is ridiculous as the court could not demonstrate that I’ve hurt him,’ Wang said, according to cable news network TVBS.
The incident and legal proceedings came as Taiwan is seeking to improve relations with China, following the election last year of the Beijing-friendly Ma Ying-jeou as the island’s president.
Mr. Zhang’s semi-official association is authorised by Beijing to handle civilian exchanges with Taiwan in the absence of official contacts between the two sides. China and Taiwan split in 1949 following a civil war, but Beijing regards the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
Taiwan councillor jailed for shoving mainland official
Reuters in Taipei 22 September 2009
A Taiwan city councillor has been jailed for four months for pushing a visiting mainland official to the ground last year ahead of a higher-profile visit from political rival Beijing.
Tainan District Court on Monday sentenced Tainan city Councilman Wang Ting-yu for decking Zhang Mingqing, vice chairman for the mainland’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, during a visit on October 21 last year.
Beijing has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and has vowed to bring the island under its rule, by force if necessary.
Ties have improved as Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, elected last year, has sought to ease tensions through trade talks, but the relationship remains sensitive. Zhang’s trip came in the run-up to the maiden visit to the island by Beijing’s top negotiator on Taiwan affairs.
“The defendant pushed and shoved Zhang Mingqing, who fell on the ground and was injured,” court spokesman Wu Yung-hui said. “The court found that he was intentionally knocked over.”
Wang was part of a group of anti-mainland demonstrators who jostled with Zhang at a temple in the southern city of Tainan, television images showed. Beijing condemned the incident.
Wang also led about 200 demonstrators who used expletives, yelling for Zhang to return to the mainland, when he showed up for an academic forum at a southern Taiwan university.
Wang has pleaded innocent and said the charge against him was brought to appease Beijing. He has 10 days to appeal.
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Jail for pushing China envoy
AFP
22 September 2009
TAIPEI - A Taiwanese politician from a party favouring independence from China has been convicted of pushing a mainland envoy to the ground in an incident that infuriated Beijing, a court said Tuesday.
Wang Ting-yu, a city councillor in the southern city of Tainan, received a four-month jail sentence for assault from the district court there on Monday, 11 months after the incident.
He has the option to appeal or, as an alternative to jail, pay a fine of NT$1,000 (S$44) daily for four months.
Mr. Zhang Mingqing, the vice-president of China’s quasi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, was shoved to the ground by a crowd when he visited Tainan, a centre of anti-mainland feeling, in October last year.
‘In order to voice his independence and sovereignty claim, the defendant pushed and shoved Zhang Mingqing even though he was aware that Zhang could get hurt,’ court spokesman Wu Yung-hui told AFP.
The incident was caught on camera and triggered fury in Beijing, with the Chinese government calling for ‘severe punishment’ of those found guilty.
But Wang, from the Democratic Progressive Party, pleaded not guilty and said he would appeal.
‘The ruling is ridiculous as the court could not demonstrate that I’ve hurt him,’ Wang said, according to cable news network TVBS.
The incident and legal proceedings came as Taiwan is seeking to improve relations with China, following the election last year of the Beijing-friendly Ma Ying-jeou as the island’s president.
Mr. Zhang’s semi-official association is authorised by Beijing to handle civilian exchanges with Taiwan in the absence of official contacts between the two sides. China and Taiwan split in 1949 following a civil war, but Beijing regards the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
Taiwan councillor jailed for shoving mainland official
Reuters in Taipei
22 September 2009
A Taiwan city councillor has been jailed for four months for pushing a visiting mainland official to the ground last year ahead of a higher-profile visit from political rival Beijing.
Tainan District Court on Monday sentenced Tainan city Councilman Wang Ting-yu for decking Zhang Mingqing, vice chairman for the mainland’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, during a visit on October 21 last year.
Beijing has claimed sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and has vowed to bring the island under its rule, by force if necessary.
Ties have improved as Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, elected last year, has sought to ease tensions through trade talks, but the relationship remains sensitive. Zhang’s trip came in the run-up to the maiden visit to the island by Beijing’s top negotiator on Taiwan affairs.
“The defendant pushed and shoved Zhang Mingqing, who fell on the ground and was injured,” court spokesman Wu Yung-hui said. “The court found that he was intentionally knocked over.”
Wang was part of a group of anti-mainland demonstrators who jostled with Zhang at a temple in the southern city of Tainan, television images showed. Beijing condemned the incident.
Wang also led about 200 demonstrators who used expletives, yelling for Zhang to return to the mainland, when he showed up for an academic forum at a southern Taiwan university.
Wang has pleaded innocent and said the charge against him was brought to appease Beijing. He has 10 days to appeal.
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