Gangs a Threat to Taiwan Democracy
Members of Taiwan’s Democratic People’s Party (DPP) have called on the National Police Administration to crack-down on gangs that have been appearing at public meetings and demonstrations, and recently attempted to beat up Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong.
DPP legislators believe that China has been covertly working with gangs to undermine Taiwan’s democracy. They called on the NPA to apply ‘an iron hand’ to cut off sources of funding for the gangs by raiding underground casinos, massage parlors, and other sources of gang revenue.
Gang members recently attacked Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) as he arrived at Taipei Taoyuan airport to attend a meeting in Taiwan.
In the evening of January 6, Wong was met in the arrival hall by a group of 100 protesters organized by the pro-unification Patriot Association. Among the protesters were masked men dressed in black, who attempted to break through a police cordon to attack Wong. Wong was punched during the altercation.
A member of the Four Seas Gang was arrested in relation to the incident. “White Wolf” Chang An-lo’s son Chang Wei, is also believed to have been involved in the airport attack, but police let him go after questioning, and he left the country. Police say they expect him to return later today, January 15, or tomorrow.
The NPA has responded to the call from legislators by performing a series of coordinated raids accross New Taipei and Taoyuan that has seen more than 1,500 gang members arrested over the last couple of weeks.
DPP legislator Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) said he had spoken face-to-face with the Police Commissioner and said the matter is considered to be a case of gangs receiving orders from overseas and is therefore considered a threat to national security.
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