Taiwan's Stolen Election, Part III

Taiwan's Stolen Election, Part III
The Most Successful Assassination Attempt in Modern History
Bevin Chu
April 09, 2004

Executive Summary: On March 19, 2004, the eve of election day, President Chen Shui-bian and Vice-president Annette Lu were traveling in a motorcade in the DPP stronghold of Tainan. Both Chen and Lu were standing in the rear of an open Jeep Wrangler, clinging to the rollbar. At 1:45 pm, the two candidates were allegedly subjected to a hail of semi-automatic pistol fire from the right shoulder of the roadway. Miraculously, the two candidates received exactly one gunshot wound each. No more, no less. More miraculously, the two candidates received only "flesh wounds," the kind suffered by lantern-jawed leading men in 50s Hollywood movies. Most miraculously of all, the two candidates, who were trailing by 10% in the polls, were "re-elected" by a 0.2% margin the following day, making this failed assassination attempt the most successful assassination attempt in recent memory.

Cui Bono?

The expression "Cui bono?" is Latin, and means "Who benefits," or more literally, "For whose benefit is it?"

Whenever a wealthy individual is found murdered, the first question homicide investigators ask is, "Who benefits?" Anyone who benefits from the victim's unnatural death is added to their suspect list. The main beneficiaries listed in the victim's Last Will and Testament are added to a special short list as the prime suspects.

Who benefits from the "assassination attempt" on Chen Shui-bian?

Chen Shui-bian, who else?

A Smoke Screen for Election Fraud

The "assassination attempt" unquestionably won Chen an undetermined number of sympathy votes. Sympathy votes however were probably not its primary purpose. They were merely a fringe benefit.

The primary purpose of the "assassination attempt" was to serve as a smoke screen for election fraud, allowing Chen to falsely attribute his unbelievable and implausible Reversal of Fortune to "sympathy votes" instead of creative accounting by the Central Election Committee.

The Timing was Too Perfect

The "assassination attempt" on Chen Shui-bian occurred on the afternoon before election day, just late enough to leave the opposition no time to react before the polls opened the next morning.

The "assassination attempt" occurred just late enough to avoid negatively impacting the day's stock market close, but just early enough to make the evening news.

The "assassination attempt" occurred just in time to force the opposition to cancel crucial election eve campaign activities, and to preclude media coverage of opposition campaign activities had they taken place anyway.

The afternoon of the "assassination attempt" pirate radio stations in southern Taiwan dedicated to Taiwan independence accused the KMT and PFP of collaborating with the CCP to "assassinate a Taiwanese president representing the Taiwanese people."

This accusation is so obtuse one despairs for democracy on Taiwan. As noted in Taiwan's Stolen Election, Parts I and II, Lien/Soong were way ahead in the polls. Would anybody in the Pan Blue camp be so stupid as to assassinate Chen/Lu on March 19, when Lien/Soong were leading by a margin of 10%?

Wouldn't such an accusation be more plausible if Chen/Lu had won, and an assassination attempt had been made on March 21? Who's kidding whom?

The Weapon was Too Crude

The weapon used in the "assassination attempt," according to local prosecutors, was a converted handgun replica, firing a handload with only one-third the normal powder charge.

Anyone with an IQ higher than a carrot need only ask himself the following questions.

Q: Doesn't the CCP have thousands of agents on Taiwan?
A: Taiwan independence Quislings and Chinese patriots agree. The CCP has thousands of agents on the island.

Q: Doesn't the CCP have the ability to smuggle vast quantities of small arms and explosives onto the island, including mint-condition, full-automatic assault rifles, machine pistols, RPGs, C4 and Semtex?
A: ROC authorities know only too well the CCP has the ability to provide a team of assassins with whatever weapons or explosives they might need to take out a local target.

Q: If the CCP wanted Chen Shui-bian dead on March 19, does anybody really believe he would he still be breathing two weeks later?
A: Chen Shui-bian would be rotting flecks of flesh splattered over a Tainan roadway. Flies would be nibbling on what little remained of his chubby body.

The Bullet was Too Weak and the Aim Too Low

Chinese-American forensics expert Henry C. Lee is the director of the Connecticut State Police Forensic Laboratory. Lee is a real life version of Gil Grissom, the character played by Wiliam Petersen in the runaway hit TV series, "CSI: Crime Scene Invesigation" (2000, created by Anthony Zuiker). Lee is known for his role in the high profile O.J. Simpson and JonBenet Ramsey cases.

Lee is currently investigating the March 19 Chen/Lu shooting incident. So far Lee has drawn two conclusions.

One, the wound was not self-inflicted, i.e., Chen Shui-bian did not shoot himself, as no powder burns were in evidence on Chen's clothes.

Two, the shooting was not an assassination attempt, as the ballistic characteristics of the bullet were too weak and the point of aim too low to kill.

In case that went by too fast: The shooting was NOT an assassination attempt.

Lee notes that "One type of speculation is that the Chinese Nationalist Party and the People First Party were behind the shooting." Lee rules this out "because an assassin would have aimed at the chest, heart or used a more powerful gun."

"In my experience, if it was a political assassination, a high-powered rifle would have been used. Even if the assassin opted for a handgun, it would be a high-powered one. If the aim was to kill, why not take it to the extreme?"


Tongue-in-cheek forensic analysis of Chen's "Wag the Dog" assassination attempt, posted on the Internet by local Taiwan wags

The Wounds were Too Light

Chen Shui-bian and Annette Lu were both wounded, allegedly by a hail of pistol rounds fired amidst the swirling smoke and deafening cacaphony of noisy firecrackers, blaring loudspeakers, and cheering supporters. Yet neither candidate was killed. Neither candidate was permanently disabled. Neither candidate was seriously wounded. Neither candidate required hospitalization. Neither candidate ever lost consciousness. Neither candidate required more than emergency room outpatient treatment. Both were patched up and released from hospital custody in just one hour.

The day of the "assassination attempt" the Secret Service contingent guarding Chen Shui-bian and Annette Lu was reduced [ ! ]. Several agents were sent back to Taipei, along with their weapons and ammunition.

Every day preceding the "assassination attempt" Chen and Lu wore Kevlar vests whenever they appeared in public. Every day following the "assassination attempt" Chen and Lu wore Kevlar vests whenever they appeared in public. Only on the day of the "assassination attempt" did Chen and Lu not wear Kevlar vests when they appeared in public.

The First Lady was Too Calm

The First Lady of the ROC is Wu Shu-chen. At no time following the "assassination attempt" did a tearful, overwrought Wu Shu-chen ever appear before the television cameras, demanding to know her husband's condition, wondering where was the bullet was lodged, or whether he would survive his gunshot wound or wounds.

Why not?

Because the First Lady was inside the loop. She knew in advance the "assassination attempt" was a monumental hoax.

Oddly enough, no one but my mother seems to have noticed this. Not the talking heads on the boob tube. Not the pundits in the print media. Not the spokesmen for the Pan Blue opposition.

My mother noticed it because she recently lost her husband, my father, to brain cancer, and has been tormented by his loss ever since. Wu Shu-chen's apparent indifference to her husband's fate disturbed my mother so much she marched into KMT Headquarters and gave KMT officials an earful. They could only nod their heads in agreement, wondering why such an obvious question never occurred to them.

The Location was Too Convenient

The "assassination attempt" occurred in Tainan, Chen Shui-bian's home town, where it would generate the most sympathy for Tainan's Native Son.

More importantly, Tainan is home to the Chi Mei Hospital. Chen's motorcade drove past the Tainan City Hospital, past the Hsiang-Tai Hospital, the one officially assigned to treat the president and vice-president in the event of a medical emergency, and arrived at the Chi Mei Hospital, five kilometers away.

The Chi Mei Hospital is owned and operated by notorious right-wing tycoon Hsu Wen-long. Hsu is a crony of former president Lee Teng-hui, a friend of neofascist Japanese political cartoonist Kobayashi Yoshinori, and a major financial backer of the Taiwan independence movement. Hsu claims that the Rape of Nanking "never happened," and that "comfort women" rounded up in Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines "eagerly volunteered" and considered their sexual slavery "a high honor."

Would someone like Hsu Wen-long have any qualms about ordering his hospital to participate in a "Wag the Dog" assassination hoax, when the "just cause" was Taiwan independence, and those being duped were "traitors to Taiwan" who advocated reunification with mainland China?

Investigators from the Tainan District Attorney's office who rushed to Chi Mei Hospital were prevented from entering by Chen's Secret Service agents. What were medical personnel inside doing that the DA's investigators couldn't be permitted to see?

Keep reading, and draw your own conclusions.

The Ninth Commandment, according to the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan

As part of his election campaign, Chen Shui-bian ordered Chen Yu-hao, former chairman of the Tuntex Group and a fugitive exiled to the US, placed on Taiwan's "Ten Most Wanted" list. Chen Shui-bian was desperate to cast himself as a squeaky clean political reformer at Chen Yu-hao's expense.

A furious Chen Yu-hao responded by appearing on television and revealing the ugly truth. Chen Shui-bian had eagerly pocketed a fortune in political contributions from Chen Yu-hao over the past decade.

When Chen Shui-bian tried to deny the charges, Chen Yu-hao revealed that ROC legislator Shen Fu-hsiung, a DPP "elder" with a reputation for honesty within DPP circles was an eyewitness who saw Chen Yu-hao hand First Lady Wu Shu-chen a bag full of cash.

Considering Shen was also Chen Shui-bian's campaign manager, Chen Yu-hao's revelation put Shen in a somewhat awkward position. Rather than lie, Shen went into hiding for the following week.

What happened next was like a scene out of a black comedy by Stanley Kubrick.

A delegation of ministers from the Presbyterian Church of Taiwan, a long time abettor of Taiwan independence, paid an emergency visit to Shen. What textual truth did these supposedly devout Christians share with him? They solemnly assured Shen that it was not a sin to lie as long as it was in a good cause. In other words, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor, unless of course it advances Taiwan independence."

Are you getting a sense of the moral character of the people involved in the Taiwan independence movement?

Chen Shui-bian, Repeat Offender

In 1985 Chen Shui-bian was running for Tainan County Commissioner. His three rivals took part in a public debate held at a local elementary school. Chen Shui-bian was a no show. Debate organizers called out his name three times. No response. They declared the debate officially over.

At that moment, Chen appeared, carried in on a stretcher. Chen's aides seized the still live microphone and handed it to Chen, who announced, "I was poisoned by agents of the KMT!"

As you can see, this was not the first time for Chen. Chen pulled this stunt before. Unfortunately the public forgot. Had they recalled Chen's record of shameless deceit, citizens of the Republic of China might have been able to preemptively expose Chen's "Wag the Dog" assassination attempt for what it was.

But then this is all Monday morning quarterbacking.

In the Line of Fire

Let's pretend for a moment we believe Chen Shui-bian when he insists that the assassination attempt was real, and that he more than anyone on the island wants to know who tried to assassinate him.

If that is the case, the president and vice-president could have been killed instantly.

If that is the case, the Secret Service team assigned to guard the two was guilty of gross incompetence.

Wouldn't you expect the officials and agents responsible for such a major screw-up to be reprimanded, reassigned, demoted, or forced to resign?

Is that what happened?

Would you believe the exact opposite?

A week after the "assassination attempt" the Secret Service agents who failed utterly to protect President Chen and Vice-president Lu, and allowed them to get shot, were promoted. Not only were they promoted, they were awarded a bonus of 3,000,000 NT, the first installment of more to come.

Only after opposition leaders pointed out this outrageous inconsistency did key Chen administration officials tender their resignations.

Is it any wonder local TV talkshow hosts joked that had any Secret Service agent taken a bullet for the president, the way Clint Eastwood did in Wolfgang Petersen's "In the Line of Fire," he would have been fired for dereliction of duty!

Elections as Usual during a State of Emergency

But what if Chen didn't fake the assassination attempt?

By now it should be obvious Chen staged his "assassination attempt." Chen did it, just as surely as OJ murdered Nicole. But just for argument's sake, let's suppose the assassination attempt wasn't a hoax.

Even assuming Chen didn't fake the assassination attempt, Chen nevertheless issued an illegal and unconstitutional Emergency Decree, mobilizing 300,000 soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, MPs, and police officers.

Perhaps I should say "immobilizing" 300,000 military and police personnel. These citizens of the ROC were ordered to remain on duty all day election day, denying them their constitutionally guaranteed right to vote. Leaving to vote was inconceivable. Anyone caught abandoning his post would have been subjected to the harshest possible punishment under military rather than civilian law.

The Republic of China's military and police personnel are predominantly true blue KMT/NP/PFP voters. Their political loyalties are well-known to everyone on the island, Green and Blue alike. The Officer Corps in particular are deeply loyal to the Republic of China, to the ROC Constitution, to Sun Yat-sen's Three People's Principles, and consider Taiwan independence treason. Their 300,000 votes are 10 times the number of Chen's "official" winning margin.

Chen knows this better than anyone. That's why every time he speaks before ROC military personnel, he never fails to shout "Long live the Republic of China!" and "Long live the Three People's Principles!"

The fact that Chen issued his Emergency Decree without any legal basis is not merely sufficient grounds to nullify the election, it is sufficient grounds to demand his impeachment.

After all, if the country was indeed in a state of national emergency, why did Central Election Committee Chairman Huang Shih-cheng, who takes his marching orders from Chen, insist that everything was normal, therefore the election would take place as scheduled?

Aren't a "State of National Emergency" and "Elections as Usual" mutually contradictory propositions?

ROC, ROK, and ROT

A week before the ROC Presidential Election, Koreans impeached Republic of Korea President Roh Moo-hyun. The charges were "illegal electioneering" and "incompetence."

Is that all?

Chen Shui-bian's flagrant lawlessness and gross incompetence make Roh Moo-hyun's offenses look like driving infractions. Were ROC citizens to hold Chen to the same high standards that ROK citizens held Roh, Chen would have been impeached a hundred times since he assumed office on May 20, 2000.

What ills Taiwan today is an advanced case of ROT, the remarkably apt acronym for "Republic of Taiwan." The cure for terminal ROT is a liberal dose of Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law, in this case, from the good Doctor Sun Yat-sen, Founding Father of the Republic of China, the first constitutional republic in Asia.

Taiwanese Fascism and US Media Complicity

Several years ago I began characterizing Taiwan independence as a fascist political movement. Some readers probably thought I was exaggerating. Now however, the Taiwan independence nomenklatura's "democratic" and "progressive" mask has been cast aside, and its fascist visage is clear for all to see.

Many US journalists see themselves as latter day Carl Bernsteins and Bob Woodwards. They flatter themselves. Few are interested in telling the truth about Taiwan. Most parrot the US government's simplistic catechism, "China bad, Taiwan good." The complex reality of a "China steadily improving, Taiwan rapidly degenerating" serves neither liberals who demand Humanitarian Intervention, nor neoconservatives who demand Benevolent Global Hegemony, so it is self-censored out of existence.

If these cheerleaders for "a growing sense of ethnic Taiwanese national identity" were genuine investigative journalists with moral consciences and historical memories, they would be denouncing this atavistic phenomenon for what it is, the rise of Taiwanese Fascism.