Lien Chan's son shot during political rally

[Icon]

And the mud slinging has begun, the crazy theories, the amazing graphics... Battle of the ratings on TV.

*sigh*

[Satellite TV Jr]

And the mud slinging has begun, the crazy theories, the amazing graphics... Battle of the ratings on TV.

*sigh*

Taiwanese news makes fox look like an intellectual tv show hosted by men who have phds from top universities in the world.

[Fraulein_Schumann]

And the mud slinging has begun, the crazy theories, the amazing graphics... Battle of the ratings on TV.

*sigh*

Taiwanese news makes fox look like an intellectual tv show hosted by men who have phds from top universities in the world.

FoxNews does have Sarah Palin(occasionally)... who do Taiwanese TV news stations have?

[Mucha Man]

And the mud slinging has begun, the crazy theories, the amazing graphics... Battle of the ratings on TV.

*sigh*

Can you elaborate? I don't have a TV and need people like you on Fcom to keep me informed.

[alidarbac]

Sorry to interrupt the stupid macho posturing in this thread. From the front page of the Apple Daily today:

- Ten minutes before the shooting, the shooter Lin Zhengwei tried to call Cheng Hongyuan's campaign manager/strategist Du Yikai. When he didn't answer, Lin called Du's driver, who said he was at the rally. Lin tried calling Du again and again he didn't answer.

- When Lin was brought in for questioning at the Yonghe police department, he refused the provided lawyer Chen Zhenwei and waited for Du to arrive to help him pick another lawyer. When Du arrived, Du insisted that he use Chen.

- Lin continues to deny that Lian Shengwen was his target. When he was asked by police if he knew who he shot, he stared blankly. When he was told he shot Lian, he was reportedly astonished.

- On the day of the shooting, witnesses claimed that the music was too loud and no could hear if the shooter said anything. Two days later, everyone started to claim that Lin shouted "Lian Shengwen, fuck your mother!" before he shot him.

- Lin denies that he shouted Lian Shengwen before shooting, but he admits to cursing.

- According to investigators, before the rally, Lin also destroyed the window of legislator Lin Defu's car. Lin Defu was on the stage at that rally and was originally standing in the exact spot where Lian was eventually shot.

According to a sidebar, Lin claims that he was trying to shoot Cheng Hongyuan, but there are several problems with this claim, the main one being that they look nothing alike. Lian claims that Lin shouted his name before shooting him, but Lin arrived at the rally at 6PM while Lian made a surprise visit, arriving at 7PM.

[Feiren]

Just to add to Alidarbac's helpful summary of the latest:

Du is a former member of the Yonghe City Council and served as acting speaker at one point. He claims that he knows Lin but not well. His nickname is hēigǒu (black dog). He's also the head of a community service group in Yonghe called the Yonghe Peoples Service Club.

It appears that the Chen family is involved in developing the Guting Market area (home of the sorely missed Roxy) and that the elder Chen promised to pay the shooter Lin NT$5 million for undisclosed services (probably forcing tenants to sign closing papers etc). After the Chens failed to pay up, Lin wanted revenge. He wanted to shoot someone important on stage to embarrass the Chen family. He may have been targeting KMT Legislator Hong Xiu-zhu, who turned up late. These are all rumors reported in the China Times this morning.

Update: Dr. Ke Wen-zhe of Tai-Da is now saying that Tai-Da Hospitals operated and that he saw Lien's wound and scans. This should put rumors that Sean Lien was somehow faking the shooting to a well-deserved death. Ke has impeccable pro-Taiwan credentials--he headed up the Doctors for Chen Shui-bian in 2000, has been refused visas to China, thinks the KMT is the CCp's spokesperson in Taiwan, and the grandson of a 2-28 victim.

He was shot. Why?

[suiyuan31]

- Lin denies that he shouted Lian Shengwen before shooting, but he admits to cursing.

Uh oh, I smell the addition of a public insultment charge

[elburro]

And the mud slinging has begun, the crazy theories, the amazing graphics... Battle of the ratings on TV.

*sigh*

Taiwanese news makes fox look like an intellectual tv show hosted by men who have phds from top universities in the world.

FoxNews does have Sarah Palin(occasionally)... who do Taiwanese TV news stations have?

I nominate Sisy Chen

[urodacus]

She looks even funnier without her hair extensions.

[Fox]

If I have any thoughts on this shooting they are this. When CSB was shot, as unfortunate as that might have been, it suggested that the Taiwan political (democratic) system is open to manipulation. The reason being that Chen's shooting resulted in a come-from-behind victory. It told anyone who was listening that an assassination, or its attempt, sways voters in Taiwan. It brings about a predictable outcome.

I heard today that one touted possibility for Lien's sons shooting was gambling on the election. Apparently, and this is purely rumor as far as I know, large amounts of Chinese money was backing a DPP victory in Xinbei. The shooting was to ensure a KMT victory and cover any major losses.

That opens up a number of interesting scenarios. The one I find most interesting is the Chinese government backing the DPP to win and thereby inadvertently putting pressure on the local gangs who were holding the bets to ensure a KMT victory to cover their exposure. It is your classic win-win scenario. If the DPP were to win they would clean up on the betting. If they got what they hoped for there is an assassination attempt on anybody at the Xinbei rally at 8:30 in prime-time TV on the night before the election. The outcome of the assasination attempt so influences the result the next day that it not only ensures a hoped for KMT victory but passes aspersions on the level of corruption in Taiwanese politics between government officials and whoever (KMT presumably). It might lead to a 'political violence' malevolent backlash against the DPP. Such an act would fundamentally undermine Taiwanese opinion about the morality of its politicians and weaken a system that is an anathema to Chinese ambitions.