Taiwan police have arrested members of an underground group that
made the bullets used in the election-eve shooting of Chen
Shui-bian in March this year, according to Shenzhen
Daily.
The arrest is the biggest breakthrough to date in the
investigation into the March 19 shooting, in which Chen and running
mate Annette Lu were slightly wounded while they were campaigning
in an open-top jeep in the southern city of Tainan. The event is
widely believed to have influenced the outcome of the hotly
contested campaign.
Jenny Kuo, a prosecutor in Tainan and spokeswoman for the
investigative task force, is reported to have said that the
investigation was continuing as the group had sold bullets to a
large number of people.
Newspapers said five members of the gang had been arrested, but
Kuo would only say that several were in custody.
Hou You-yi, head of the criminal investigation bureau, said they
were certain that at least one of those detained had made the
bullets used in the shooting, and the others were involved in
assembling guns and selling the weapons and ammunition.
No suspects for the attack have been named. Police have been
unable to find the man, described as being in his 30s or 40s, who
was standing in the area from which two shots are believed to have
been fired from a homemade gun. The man's features are unclear in
television footage of the event.
Kuo was quoted as saying, "This is very encouraging for us,
given that we started the investigation with just two bullets and
casings. We now feel it's possible to solve this case."
In the weeks following the March election, thousands of people
in Taiwan protested the results and demanded an inquiry into the
shooting, believing that it may have been staged to garner sympathy
for the incumbent leader.
Chen announced in July that an independent investigative
committee had been set up to look into the case, but there were
widespread doubts about its validity. Many believed that its
establishment was mere posturing to fend off criticism from
opposition parties and the public.
(Shenzhen Daily, China.org.cn December 15, 2004)