|
Funeral held for shooting victim
THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE:Pro-localization groups said their
campaign for full disclosure will continue because they believe the government
is not being forthright
By Mo Yan-chih and Rich Chang / Staff
Reporters
Taiwan Society Chairman Wu Shuh-min, second
left, Central Taiwan Society President Chen Wan-teh, second right, and Taiwan
Hakka Society President Chang Yeh-sen, right, watch as Eastern Taiwan Society
President Winston Yu, who also is a doctor, points to a skull at a press
conference where the organizations called for full disclsoure of the
investigation into the shooting of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central
Committee member Sean Lien last month.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The family of a man killed in a shooting in which Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
Central Committee member Sean Lien (連勝文) was wounded last month held a funeral
service yesterday, attended by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and other
politicians who offered the family their condolences.
Huang Yun-sheng (黃運聖) was attending a campaign rally for then-Sinbei councilor
candidate Chen Hung-yuan (陳鴻源) of the KMT on Nov. 26, when he was killed in an
attack that also wounded Lien.
The bullet first struck Lien in the left cheek and exited near his right temple.
The incident, which took place a day before the special municipality elections,
sparked heated debates as to whether the shooting was political in nature.
Ma yesterday attended the funeral service accompanied by Deputy Taipei County
Commissioner Lee Shu-chuan (李四川).
He left declining to comment when asked about the ongoing probe into the
shooting.
Chen also attended the funeral service, apologizing to the Huang family for the
events that unfolded at his campaign rally, but denied having anything to do
with the shooting.
“I am really sorry about what happened at the rally ... The case is under
investigation, and we are all waiting for the outcome,” he said.
The Banciao District Prosecutors Office launched an investigation into the
shooting last month. It said at a news conference on Thursday that the incident
was not orchestrated by Lien, son of former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰), but has
so far failed to produce a motive for the shooting.
Sean Lien, has only made one public appearance since the shooting, when heading
to hospital for a check-up earlier this month. He did not attend the funeral
service yesterday.
Although Sean Lien has insisted that the suspected shooter, Lin Cheng-wei (林正偉)
— also known as “Horse Face” (馬面) — called his name when approaching him, Lin
has since claimed the shooting was a case of mistaken identity.
At a separate setting yesterday, a group of pro-localization organizations held
a joint press conference and demanded the prosecutors handle the investigation
with as much transparency as possible.
“Lien’s shooting happened over three weeks ago, and it’s becoming more and more
suspicious. The government has not clarified the matter in the public mind,
instead, it seems as if it is concealing the truth. We wonder whether there are
any political motivations at play here,” Taiwan Society chairman Wu Shuh-min
(吳樹民) said.
“Since the public has the right to know what really happened, the government and
National Taiwan University Hospital should respond to public suspicion by
releasing Lien’s medical record and his X-rays,” he added, asking the government
to follow the precedent set by the establishment of the March 19 Shooting Truth
Investigation Special Committee, following the shooting of former president Chen
Shui-bian and form an independent committee to probe Lien’s shooting.
Saying the shooting undermined democracy and had a serious impact on the
performance of the Democratic Progressive Party in the Nov. 27 special municipal
elections, Wu said pro-localization groups will not stop pushing for the truth
to be disclosed as long as it believes the government is being less than
forthcoming.
|
