I'm thinking this killer was either the most stupid killer, or was very low on the ground level. He shot through the glass, and missed the bigger target above the bar. Some officials say it hits Liu's knee first, according to NYT.
Chen has many enemies. His wife was runned over by a truck in an assination attempt on him during the eighties. The KMT sent him to prison before. Gangsters are part of the establishment. Wealthy businessmen don't like him. Powerful people want him muerte. Time to wear a 50 Cent vest.
I still don't know what fully to make of this situation but from the emotions I've seen portrayed on other threads regarding the feelings of those die-hard on reunification and those against I wouldn't count anything out. Judging that the PRC and even some Taiwanese would support a war to reunify Taiwan assassinating the leaders of the independence movement would seem to fit. Judging that there are those who want to see Taiwan independent at all costs assassinating your own leaders to make a martyr might fit also. My own opinion is why can't both sides just let the issue go. Taiwan is a de facto independent country and if the Taiwanese decide its better to be part of Mainland China let democracy decide it instead of intimidation.
Many people like myself were actually once open to talks and other possibilities. But why have I changed my mind? Look no further than this "Lil" guy. Trash talk won't win you any friends, that I know for sure. Oh, forgot to tell ya, he's among the nicer ones (boy did I just use the word nice? ) "These boys tell me that they have egos. Well, I have one, too."
And lobbing missiles and holding huge military exercises off of one's coast will? I have no doubt some of the Taiwanese separatist go to wacky extremes but the threats and military posturing of the PRC leave a lot to be desired too.
Why feint sympathy when you're not going to give him the benefit of the doubt? I don't think going to war and killing people who annoy you is the answer. There's extremists on both sides who feed off each other.
I will utter "Total" all I want, my friend. Total, Total, Total... Total BS. See? Isn't that the cat's pajamas? I saw John F. Kennedy the day before he was killed, live and in person 15 meters from me in his motorcade, along with John Connally and LBJ. I saw Lee Harvey Oswald shot while I was watching him on TV, live. I saw Robert Kennedy killed live, on TV, as I watched about 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, being an excited Democrat who knew he was on his way to becoming President. I wish I could say that it was all happy coincidence, but it wasn't fun at all... it was tragic. And I saw these things and can mention them because, despite George Bush Junior's best efforts, I still live in a free, democratic society. And I'm going to happily vote against Junior this Fall in our democratic elections. Ain't life grand? I still think some of you are crazy to believe this was staged. Like I said, I've been witness to too much tragedy to think this is a game. But you guys are free to say what you want. That's what we do here, courtesy of Clutch.
Taiwanese are starting to vote now. It will be interesting to wait for the result. I don't think he planed his own assassination for the simple reason that there are other stuff he can do. But on the other hand, if you ask any Taiwanese before hand who is going to be the biggest beneficiary if he is the subject of a failed assassination attempt, the answer will be himself. Before this, I am certain that he will lose the election in a land-slide (greater than 10% difference). He is certainly lucky politically. After the dramatic nightmare he went through for the assassination, he will probably win a second term.
Deckard, you desparately need to learn some Chinese. There is simply not much English news coverage for you to judge this incident. According to Taiwan news, people found their president was shot more than 10 minutes after the incident happened. The driver or the 400 secret service men didn't notice there was a hole on the windshield for more than 10 minutes. Is that believable to you?
It was very noisy and the injury is very minor. Therefore, it is possible that nobody noticed until the blood start to leak out from the wound. As a matter of fact, President Chen thought it was an injury caused by firework.
Do you believe in Karma. You were the first one to post this news too, maybe you can count this one also. Stay away from yoru TV.
Hating on military posturing or threats is one thing, hating on ordinary Chinese people like myself is another.
The people has spoken!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God bless Democracy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Someone up there is really really smiling down on Taiwan today!
I thought Buddha was dead in China. Or at least the cultural aspect of it.... I wonder if you'd be as happy if Lien Chan was ahead in the polls, Lil. That too would be a testement in democracy....
Lil got very excited after Taiwan's president was shot. Deckard, when JFK got shot, did you have the same feeling?
Result: Chen 50.1% Lien 49.9% Chen won by a mere 27,000 votes. The shooting did help Chen according to DDP spokesman. -G'day-
The more stories I read, the more things don't fit together. They said they found the bullets that glazed Chen, shown by a picture of a doctor holding it in his hand. Now, if its a glaze, how the hell does the bullets end up in the doctor's hand, shouldn't it be somewhere stuck in the car? If Chen wins wins this election, which seems to be looking that way, some serious investigation needs to be done on this shooting. I can understand nobody hearing gunfire...fireworks and all, but no witness to shooter? Nobody seeing a bullet break a chunk of glass? If things are what they seem, then there are either some very incompetent yet sneaky assassins, or the crowd and the security are all a bunch of blind idiots. Either way, Lien is getting robbed of a presidency.
