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Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Six Degrees of Desperation

The Blues fantasy that Chen Shui-bian staged his own assassination sustained them in defeat... and the China Post is still livin' the dream....
Police confirmed yesterday President Chen Shui-bian was wounded on March 19, 2004, by a bullet made at home by Tang Shou-yi, who is now claiming he was scapegoated in the investigation of the mystery-shrouded shooting in Tainan.

President Chen was reelected, thanks to the sympathy votes cast on the day following the incident, in which the gunman police identified later committed suicide and no smoking gun was found.

In a self-produced DVD confession sent from China, Tang charged police investigators framed him and Chen Yi-hsiung, the gunman who they said drowned himself "out of remorse" ten days after his "attempt to assassinate" the president.

The China Post, pro-KMT to the core, is playing coy: the DVD "sent from China" was not sent from just anywhere. Tang the bullet maker has gone to stay with Chang An-lo, one of Taiwan's most prominent gangsters. Tang is yet another example of a criminal in Taiwan, with strong gang connections, released on bail, and easily able to jump bail and leave the country -- to head (where else?) to China. The Post is downplaying the infinity of connections here between the pro-Blue side and Taiwan's underworld. Has Tang been coerced by the police, as he claims, or was his testimony bought and paid for by the Blues? You make the call....

Maddog reminded me in a private email that Chang An-lo is connected to Lin Chen-chieh, that gentleman who beat up a democracy supporter on TV -- and who showed up at Shih Ming-teh's anti-Chen protest and wanted to be his bodyguard (Lin is actually Chairman of Chang An-lo's political party). Wang Lan, who runs the female arm of the Bamboo Union gang, the Phoenix Corps, also volunteered to help bodyguard Shih Ming-teh. These gangsters are all pro-Blue -- Chang has ancient connections to Taiwan's martial law-era security services and was involved in the 1984 murder of writer Henry Liu -- just to keep the dizzying conections coming -- who was once a dinner pal of current PFP Chairman and KMT turncoat James Soong. Shih Ming-teh himself is connected to Chen Yu-hao, the notorious embezzler, who is apparently under the thumb of the Chinese government. Chang and his Bamboo Union gang pals all have China connections as well.

So, let me ask again. Did the police coerce Tang? Or did someone buy him? And who is pulling the strings?

3 comments:

  1. Would someone enlighten me on the Phoenix Corps? I've never heard of this group before. I've asked several locals and they are in the dark as well. Do they party?

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  2. "President Chen was reelected, thanks to the sympathy votes cast on the day following the incident,..."

    That's always been the big assumption, that CSB won sympathy votes because of the shooting, but has this ever been verified by surveys?

    I wonder if the shooting actually cost him votes among the 'Undecided' since every single Blue supporter in the country immediately started crying foul play.

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  3. I don't remember anyone crying "foul play" until after the election. It seems to me that on the night before the election, Lien Chan was adamant that the election MUST GO ON. Lien figured he was going to win. He was duped by the surveys that newspapers friendly to the KMT had rigged. He also figured that he and Soong would grab 59% of the vote (their combined total for 2000), forgetting a lot more quicky than voters that as opposition leader he had done zip to make this a better country. I remember some blues thinking they "had it in the bag now" because nobody would vote for a dead (or at least incapacatated Pres.).

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