Ex-President Chen kicked in the rear at his first court appearance

The attack came when Chen showed up at the Taipei District Court as a defendant around 10 a.m. for the first hearing in a defamation suit involving the long-stalled Lafayette frigate procurement case, in what was his first court appearance since he left office on May 20.

The attacker, identified as Su An-sheng and a staunch member of the pro-union Concentric Patriotism Association of the Republic of China, kicked Chen before National Security Bureau guards could stop him.

Su was immediately whisked away to a police station for questioning. The police said Su would be referred to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office on charges of physical assault if Chen files a suit against him. Should the ex-president decide not to do so, the police will refer him to the Taipei District

Court on charges of violating statutes governing social order.

The opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) soon condemned the National Security Bureau for failing to protect former President Chen Shui-bian, and urged President Ma Ying-jeou to make a statement on the incident.

"The incident, which occurred just two months after Chen left office, is a great insult to democracy and human rights, " said DPP Taipei City Councilor Chou Po-yia, after a news conference held by the DPP's Taipei City Chapter to call on the government to use donations for China's Sichuan earthquake for storm disaster relief in southern Taiwan.

Wang Tuoh, secretary general of the opposition DPP, said at a press conference yesterday afternoon that the violent behavior against an ex-President should be seriously condemned and punished, as it is really an insult to Taiwan's democracy.

Wang also urged President Ma to openly condemn the violence, lest such violent tendencies fuel confrontation between the different political camps.

Former DPP Legislator Kao Chien-chih said members of the Concentric Patriotism Association often behave irrationally and violently toward the pro-independence DPP.

"I really worry about the safety of Chen under such poor security measures," Kao said. "Given the fact that the anti-Chen complex shows no signs of dying down, the National Security Bureau should step up the protection of the former president."

Chen was summoned by the Taipei District Court to appear at the trial, as he has been accused by former Vice Admiral Lei Hsueh-ming, a former chief of the Navy's Shipbuilding Office, and four other ex-naval officials of defamation.

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