March 19 shooting incident
3-19 shooting incident (三一九槍擊事件) On March 19 2004, the day before the Republic of China presidential election, President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu were both shot while campaigning in Tainan, in what then appeared to be a political assassination attempt.
Their injuries were not life-threatening, and both Chen and Lu were released from Chi-Mei Hospital on the same day without losing consciousness or undergoing surgery. Nevertheless, the attack provoked shock and unease in Taiwan, where political violence of this kind is virtually unheard of in recent times. The incident is thought to have earned Chen and Lu sympathy votes, helping to win them the election on the next day by a mere 29,500 votes. In August 2005, the case was officially closed with all leads pointing to one single deceased suspect, Chen Yi-hsiung, but Chen's opponents have continued to cry foul and are seeking to continue the investigation.[1]
Sequence of events
President Chen and Vice President Lu were standing in the back seat of an open convertible jeep moving slowly through a crowded street. One bullet struck Chen's stomach and was later found in his clothes; Chen received a flesh wound 8 cm long and 2 cm deep (four inches long, an inch wide, and an inch deep). Another bullet grazed Lu's knee and was found in the jeep. At first both believed that they had been hit by firecrackers, which are common in Taiwanese political parades and rallies. Chen realized that it was something more serious when he noticed that he was bleeding from the stomach and that there was a bullet hole in the window.
- At around 1:45 pm, Chen reported pain in his stomach, and Lu, in her knee.
- At 2:00 pm, they were both taken to the Chi-Mei Hospital.
- At 3:30 pm, the spokesperson for the president, Chiou I-Jen, announced that the "National Security Mechanism" has been activated.
- At 5:30 pm, both the Pan-Blue and Pan-Green coalitions announced that they would cease all scheduled campaigning activities.
- At 5:45 pm, the hospital announced that the president had suffered a 11 cm long, 2 cm wide gash across his abdomen.
- At 6:00 pm, two shells were found on the campaign route where the apparent assassination attempt took place.
- At 9:00 pm, the president returned to his official residence.
- At 11:00 pm, in a video released to the public, the president urged the Taiwanese people to remain calm and indicated that neither his health nor the security of Taiwan were threatened.
The next day's election was not postponed, as Taiwanese law only allows for suspension of election upon the death of a candidate. Chen's opponent, Lien Chan, and Lien's campaign manager Wang Jin-ping tried to visit Chen on the night of the incident, but were unable to see the president because he was resting. Chen Shui-bian appeared in public the next day when he turned out to cast his vote.
Investigation
Within hours, police announced they were certain that the crime was not political, and that mainland China was not involved. In Internet chat rooms and on talk radio, some Pan-Blue supporters theorized that the incident was faked in order for Chen to gain sympathy votes. These speculations were (and still are) however, considered highly offensive by Pan-Green supporters, and were not condoned by the Pan-Blue leadership until after Chen won the election.
Two bullet casings were found by a civilian under a police car after it was driven away. The two casings found suggested that only two shots were fired at the motorcade. Their assembly also suggested that they were fired from home-made guns. It is unclear as to whether they were fired from the same gun, or from different guns.
The police did not find or identify any suspect involved in the shooting. There were several people the police wanted to question based on erratic behavior, such as leaving the scene in a hurry, recorded by surveillance camera. A few people showed up after they recognized themselves on the broadcast footage, but these proved to be inconclusive.
The bullet trajectory proposed by the police was that a bullet struck the windshield, entered Lu's knee, and then fell out. Another bullet fired from the jeep's side struck Chen's stomach and travelled through his jacket and lodged in the rear of the jacket until recovered by the hospital staff.
On March 29, three American forensic scientists arrived in Taiwan to help with the investigation. They were Dr. Cyril Wecht, a forensic expert, Michael Haag, an expert on bullet trajectory, and Timothy Palmbach, an expert on crime scene integrity. Wecht personally examined Chen's belly and concluded it was consistent with a gunshot wound.
They were followed by Henry C. Lee on April 9. After examining the jeep, he deduced that the shots were fired from the outside because there were shards of glass on the jeep's floor. But due to the incompleteness of evidence preservation, and the lack of an accurate record on the jeep's speed at the day of procession, he pointed out that it might be impossible to determine from which direction the bullets entered the jeep.
Interior Minister Yu Cheng-hsien announced his resignation on April 4, and National Security Bureau director Tsai Chao-ming stepped down the week before to take responsibility for the shooting, in keeping with the Taiwanese tradition that government officials take responsibility for perceived or implied dereliction of duty.
On August 24, 2004, the Legislative Yuan approved legislation setting up the "3-19 truth investigative commission" to probe the shooting. According to the number of seats they have in the current 5th Legislative Yuan, each party will appoint members for the new commission. The commission will have the right to interview government officials and demand documents, and will be asked to present its findings to the legislature infinitely without time constraint. As part of the law, no one is permitted to elect silence or to influence the commission's investigation. The commission is also authorized to command a government prosecuting attorney, to unilaterally utilize the disaster reserve funds from the Executive Yuan, and to override court verdicts. Because such a law was suspected unconstitutional, the Pan-Green Coalition opposed the commission. Some Taiwanese nationals actually referred the commission "3-19 truth in-the-making commission."
Dr. Henry C. Lee submitted a 130-page report and a CD containing 150 photos to Andrew Hsia, director general of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York on August 29, 2004 He concluded that the incident was not an assassination attempt because "a more powerful weapon than a homemade pistol would have been used." He was unable to make a conclusive report, but indicated his findings would help locate the gun and its factory.[2]
On September 9, 2004, three men - Yeh Ho-chiang, 37, Chen Ching-hung, 33, and Huang Chin-shou, 43 - were arrested at an illegal weapons factory near Tainan possessing bullets matching those found at the crime scene.
On March 7, 2005, Taiwanese police held a conference about the shooting incident. Two suspects were named; Chen Yi-Hsun and Huang Hung-Ren. Both of them were found dead shortly following the 319 incident. Chen was living in the vicinity and resembled one of the unknown persons shown on police tapes in the hotzone (the "yellow coat bald guy"). The tape was released by the police on March 26, 2004, and Chen was found drowned in a harbor on March 28, exactly two days later. The connection between Chen and the weapon maker was established by confirming Chen as being the 5th hand of a possible weapon; additionally family members of Chen stated that he left suicide notes, which according to the Taiwanese police's interpretation hinted that he committed the crime, though the notes had been burned by the family, and the interpretation held by the police is at best tenuous. Additionally the family members were reported to have recalled strange behavior of Chen following the 319 shooting. On the other hand, Huang also committed suicide with a gun that made from the same manufacturer as that of the incident, and the bullet found shared traits with the one that hit the Vice-President.
On August 17, 2005, the case was officially closed after the investigators concluded that Chen acted alone. However, while there were no large-scale protests, there continue to be lingering doubts among a substantial part of the population. Lien, who happened to be leaving office as KMT chairman on the same day, publicly expressed disbelief. A China Times poll purportedly showed that only 19% of the surveyed persons believe that there had been a sufficiently thorough investigation. Pan-Blue legislators have called for continued investigation of the case, as has one of the victims, Vice President Lu.
Questions from Pan-Blue and counterclaims
- Pan-Blue supporters argued that the wounds inflicted upon the President and Vice President were light and improbable, asking why Chen was hit in the abdomen instead of the head and how the bullets turned to hit the targets.
- Henry C. Lee suggests that it was not a serious assassination attempt in which the assassin would usually aim for the head. Investigators have said that the gun was made in an illegal workshop, and the arrested suspect had admitted that the bullets were only half-filled since he was afraid of being killed by his own bullets.
- Pan-Blue supporters questioned the level of security, which they thought was surprisingly low: both the President and the Vice-President were both standing up from inside a roofless, unarmored jeep. They did not wear bulletproof vests and proceeded slowly on the congested two-way street. Pan-Green supporters said that this was to be expected as Taiwan has not experienced political violence over the past decade and no assassination attempt against a President has been made before. Presidential candidates from both camps only wore bulletproof vests occasionally throughout their campaign.
- This caused very serious aftershocks as the chief responsible for the safety resigned and several cabinet members requested resignation. It is reported that the guards were wearing earplugs because they could not stand the noise from firecrackers during the procession. However, this does not explain why they did not notice the bullet hole in the windshield.
- The bodyguards did not notice the bullethole in the windshield immediately. The National Security Bureau agents claim they did not react because they thought it was a firecracker, but the hole in the windshield was clearly visible in front of Chief Aide De Camp Chen Tsai-Fu, and he did not react.
- This is still being investigated.
- The blood stain on the clothes raised some suspicion as it stained horizontally onto the stomach part of his thick jacket, whereas logically the blood stain should have trickled down his pants, not parallel through the jacket since he was standing up, not lying down.
- This is debunked as a higher-resolution photo actually identified the purported blood-stain to be red safety belts of the jeep.
- However, there is also no blood on Chen's underwear. Since the blood should have dripped down, there should be blood on his underwear.
- Chen Shui-Bian claims he was wearing his pants low that day as he was losing weight, and wore his pants 3 inches below the wound.
- The blood on the undershirt is only 7.5 cm wide as the distance between the 2 holes is only 7.5 cm wide according to the ruler provided by Dr. Henry Lee in his report. This does not match with the length of the wound which was 11 cm.
- There is still no response to this issue.
- The blood soaked through Chen's dress shirt, but there is no visible blood on the interior of Chen's jacket. Only oily stains from the ointment used.
- There is no response to this issue.
- On 24 March, the Criminial Investigation Bureau claimed that there is only 1 hole in the outside of the jacket on the right side. However, in Dr. Henry Lee's report on 24 August, the jacket has 2 holes indicated by red arrows on the right side.
- The Criminal Investigation Bureau continues to claim there is only one hole in the jacket as indicated in their final report on 17 August, 2005.
- The opposition, Dr. Henry Lee, and the Forensics Department all agree that there are no fibers from the jacket on the lead bullet head. The opposition claims that the lead bullet head did not strike the jacket in question with 1 (or 2) holes in it.
- Dr. Henry Lee wrote in his investigation book with a chapter on 319, that he does not know why there are no fibers from the jacket on the lead bullet head, but only asked people who question this by saying "If the Criminial Investigation Bureau really wanted to do a fake, why didn't they just put the fibers from the jacket on the bullet head?"
- Ballistic experts Warren Levicoff (U.S.) and Robert Tilney (U.K.) hired by the opposition to comment on the pictures claim that the fibers from the clothing on the lead bullet head to not appear to be there from shooting the bullet through clothing because the fibers would be engraved on the bullet head and in straight lines. The fibers on the lead bullet are curly suggesting that the bullet head was rubbed on the clothing and not shot through it.
- Dr. Henry Lee claims that if there are fibers from the clothing, then the bullet hit the clothing.
- Pan-Blue supporters questioned why Chen was taken to Chi-Mei Hospital, whose founder is a vocal supporter for the Pan-Green coalition, instead of the larger and closer (in distance) Tainan Hospital. Tainan locals countered that Chi-Mei Hospital is the best and quickest hospital to go in Tainan on that day, and that the director of Chi-Mei Hospital, Jan Chi-hsien, is an advisor to the Kuomintang Party. Also, Lee Ming-cha, a lawyer for the Kuomintang, was at the hospital to monitor preservation of evidence and found nothing unusual [3]. Chi-Mei hospital was not on the list of hospitals designated to treat the President in case of emergencies.
- The Pan-Green coalition countered by saying that it was indeed on an internal list not known to the public and that it was not on the official list because it lacked a helicopter pad.
- An x-ray was shown by DPP Legislator Wang Sing-Nan at 2:45 P.M. showing a bullet head in the back area which could have suggested that the bullet was inside Chen's body and that he was seriously wounded. At 3:30 P.M. in a Presidential Office press conference, Secretary General Chiou I-Jen said that the bullet was "on his body" and smiled. It was explained later that the bullet head was lodged in Chen's jacket as it came to rest.
- According to Vice President's Annette Lu's written statement, she heard the doctor say the bullet was found in between the jacket and dress shirt. The opposition then countered saying that the bullet head should have fallen down if that were the case. The story changed 2 weeks later as the government then claimed that the bullet was found in between the undershirt and dress shirt so the bullet head did not fall down. This is the claim even though there are 6 or more holes in the dress shirt with a large "L" shape tear where it looks like the bullet could have exited. Additionally, Chen also waved to supporters from the jeep, walked into the hospital, layed down for surgery where doctors lifted his clothing up, and then walked into the x-ray room and the bullet head still did not fall down.
- Tests done on bullets going through 3 articles of clothing (undershirt, dress shirt, and jacket) show that because the undershirt is thicker than the dress shirt, that if the bullet had enough velocity to penetrate the dress shirt when exiting, then it will break the dress shirt also causing the bullet to either exit through the jacket, or lay between the dress shirt and jacket. Tests show that it is impossible for the bullet to end up between the undershirt and dress shirt.
- Pan-Green supporters claim that the bullet must have been stuck in the clothing some how, so it didn't fall down.
- Pan-Blue supporters charged that the investigation of a Presidential assassination attempt was overly casual. The bullet casing was found by nearby vendors under a double parked car when it was driven away more than three hours after the shooting. Additionally, government investigation bureau agents were also seen collecting video and photos of the scene half an hour after the incident while the police did not arrive until about 3 hours later.
- Some Pan-Green supporters would object that this claim does not stand as the Taiwanese police confirmed the greatest progress yet on March 7, 2005.
- On March 7, 2005, Police Commissioner Hou You-Yi claimed that a suspect (Tainan resident Chen Yi-Hsiung) had been identified. Chen, found on March 29, 2004, allegedly committed suicide over guilt, and was also seen criticizing Chen Shui-Bian's government and a popular talk show before the Presidential Election. According to the family of the man, they burned his suicide notes. The wife of Chen Yi-Hsiung gave a confession with her back turned to the camera asking for forgiveness because of the incident. Pan-Blue supporters claim that there is no strong evidence to connect Chen Yi-Hsiung to the incident because the gun he allgedly used had not been found.
- The Police Bureau claims that their investigation from the bullets and the casings found, led them to a gunmaker whom they arrested. This man allegedly sold the gun to someone and passed through many hands before it was then allgedly given to Chen Yi-Hsiung.