Forensic Expert Hounded for News
Henry Lee, a key figure in the Simpson trial, is investigating the attack on Taiwan's leader.
By David Pierson
Times Staff Writer
April 19, 2004
Steve Gao, a 23-year veteran of the Monterey Park-based Chinese Daily News, was under strict orders to find out what dozens of other Chinese-language media outlets in Southern California were clamoring to know:
What did forensic scientist Henry Lee conclude about the shooting of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu? They both sustained minor gunshot wounds in a motorcade a day before the March 20 presidential election.
Lee, a well-known investigator whose work helped turn the tide of the O.J. Simpson trial in favor of the defense, returned from Taiwan last week after leading a whirlwind 48-hour probe alongside friends and colleagues from the United States. Seldom has a local Chinese-language newspaper not had Lee on its cover in recent days, often relegating stories about Houston Rockets basketball star Yao Ming to less prominent spots within their pages.
The shooting has plunged the island nation into crisis the last three weeks as violent protests have erupted in the capital, Taipei. Thirteen million ballots were cast, and Chen won by 30,000 votes. Those who oppose the ruling party say the shooting was staged to garner sympathy votes for Chen, a charge the leader has denied.
Under significant pressure, Chen agreed to allow an independent investigation into the shooting assisted by foreign experts such as Lee.
California is home to Taiwan's largest overseas community in the U.S., with more than 70,000 residents. Many lived under martial law in their homeland that lasted for years after the republic was established in 1949 following the communist revolution. With memories of such hardship, expatriates' emotions still run high, demonstrated by their willingness to fly back to Taiwan to vote and to rally by the hundreds for and against Chen in Chinatown, downtown L.A. and the San Gabriel Valley.
Saturday afternoon, Gao headed for Las Vegas, where Lee was giving a presentation on forensic science. A rumor had recently leaked out of Taiwan that Lee would hold a news conference Sunday to announce the results of his investigation.
But the rumor was false.
"Everyone thought we were going to have big headline news tomorrow," said a visibly irritated Gao shortly after he arrived Saturday. "But we've got nothing."
During rehearsal Saturday afternoon, Lee agreed to be interviewed by The Times and said he would release his findings in a month or two. What he has concluded so far, he said, is that the shooting was not an assassination attempt by the opposition party because the caliber of the bullet was too weak to ensure fatal results. Second, he said the president did not shoot himself because the trajectory of the bullet would have made such a feat impossible.
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上面是摘自洛杉磯時報訪問李昌鈺先生的文章
今天雖然看到部份國內媒體引用一段
但筆者恐有謬誤 因此親取部份原文引述
原文網址如下:(進入該站需註冊 手續免費)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-taiwan19apr19,1,3592085,print.story
1.
有人喜歡引外國媒體對台灣的評論 所以我也引出來
在本文第五段裡說
陳水扁是在明顯的壓力下 才願意讓獨立的調查人士參與協助
很奇怪的是 陳總統明明說 沒有人比他更想知道兇手是誰
那又何必經過壓力 才願意請高手回來幫忙??
2.
李昌鈺現在說
兇手不是敵對陣營派來的 因為子彈弱到不足以造成致命傷害
不過也不是陳水扁自己對自己開的槍
結果呢 我們的檢方目前還是"堅持"從"殺人未遂"角度來偵辦
這難道沒有預設立場之嫌??
難道不值得懷疑嗎??
3.
還是回到我前面的問題
要殺人方法多得是 幹嘛用玩具槍 黑火藥和爛子彈??
這樣子兇嫌不等於是自殺 而非殺人嗎??
如果檢方還是硬要堅持殺人未遂的角度偵辦
還是自以為是地主張兇嫌為一人 在五六公尺外開槍
而不願意放開心胸 接受更多的可能性
那請問我們憑什麼要相信檢調單位??
憑什麼我們不能成立真相調查委員會??
