Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Workers yesterday tow away a truck that was driven through security obstacles and up the stairs of the main entrance of the Presidential Office earlier in the day in what police say was an intentional act.
Photo: Chen En-hui, Taipei Times

A driver rammed a large truck into the main gate of the Presidential Office yesterday morning, in what police have initially determined was an intentional act.

Chiehshou Police Station Chief Tsai Han-cheng (蔡漢政) said the driver has been identified as Chang Ter-cheng (張德正).

The incident — the most serious security breach to occur at the Presidential Office in years — took place at 5:05am when Chang drove a 35-tonne truck into the office, ramming through three layers of protective barriers and speeding up a flight of stairs before being stopped by a bulletproof door leading to the office’s main building, police said.

In the wake of an increasing number of controversial — or seemingly pointless, but highly politicized — decisions, a growing number of Taiwanese are wondering whether the Control Yuan should be abolished.

Some of the Control Yuan’s more controversial moves include the failure to impeach Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) for allegedly leaking details of an ongoing investigation to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九); the failure to impeach Keelung Mayor Chang Tong-rong (張通榮) after he was convicted of influence peddling and interfering with police in a drunk driving case; and the efforts of some Control Yuan members to get defector Justin Lin’s (林毅夫) name off the most-wanted list, even though as recently as July 2009 the watchdog body censured the Ministry of National Defense over the former army captain’s defection to China more than 30 years ago.