Ko Wen-je Pepper Spray Incident Solved; DPP Taichung City Council Caucus Points Out Many Suspicious Points
The pepper spray incident involving TPP founder Ko Wen-je was caused by an accidental discharge by a police chief. The DPP Taichung city council caucus criticized the delayed announcement and suspicious handling of the case.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 22, 2026 at 16:41
- 🔍 Collected: April 22, 2026 at 17:02 (20 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 23, 2026 at 08:55 (15h 52m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(CNA Reporter Hao Hsueh-ching, Taichung, 22nd) The pepper spray incident involving Taiwan People's Party (TPP) founder Ko Wen-je was ultimately found to be an accidental discharge by Chou Chun-ming, the chief of the Sixth Precinct who was on site for security. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taichung City Council caucus held a press conference today, stating that the process is full of suspicious points and demanding that Mayor Lu Shiow-yen provide a clear explanation.
On the evening of the 17th, Ko Wen-je accompanied TPP Taichung city councilor candidate Liu Chin-yu to Fengchia Night Market for a campaign sweep, during which he was sprayed with pepper spray. Liu Chin-yu went to the Sixth Precinct on the morning of the 18th to file an injury complaint. Police investigation revealed that it was accidentally sprayed by Sixth Precinct Chief Chou Chun-ming during the security process. In addition to receiving a demerit, Chou Chun-ming was removed from his post and reassigned to a non-managerial role as a police inspector at the Taipei City Police Department.
Chou Yung-hung, convener of the DPP caucus in the Taichung City Council, led party councilors in a press conference at noon, questioning the many suspicious points of the case and demanding a direct response from Lu Shiow-yen and the Taichung City Police Department. The suspicious points include the fact that crucial evidence was already obtained on the afternoon of the 18th, yet the false information regarding this blunder was allowed to ferment in society for nearly 41 hours.
Chou Yung-hung mentioned that on the night of the 17th, no one had even officially reported the case yet. Why did the police department already dispatch personnel to search for the discarded pepper spray can? Furthermore, they found the discarded pepper spray can in a trash can at Fengchia Night Market in the early hours of the 18th. Since they could find the pepper spray can, why couldn't they find the person who threw it? This is highly questionable.
Wu Da-yung, deputy chief of the Sixth Precinct of the Taichung City Police Department, attended the press conference on behalf of the department. He explained that the subject is the precinct chief, his direct superior, and he is a subordinate. The entire case was led by the Inspector's Office of the City Police Department, and only the Inspector's Office is clear about the details. As for searching for the pepper spray can that same night, it was because a TPP candidate reported being attacked with pepper spray at the night market. The precinct took it very seriously and asked the local police station to search the centralized trash cans at the night market, which led to the discovery of a bottle of pepper spray.
Because Wu Da-yung was unable to fully answer the numerous questions raised by the councilors at the meeting, repeatedly answering, "The City Police Department will explain after the meeting," he was eventually asked by the caucus to leave the venue.
Chou Yung-hung believes that after the incident, the TPP used the media and social networks to step-by-step manipulate this blunder of police equipment failure into a script of political persecution, claiming "the DPP is tearing society apart," "indiscriminate attacks," and "Bluebird disruption," pointing the finger directly at the DPP and President Lai Ching-te. The city government clearly held the truth in its hands but chose to remain silent, allowing false information to spread everywhere. Whether this was "careful verification" or "deliberate connivance" should be clearly explained.
Chou Yung-hung also cited the case of a Maserati thug beating someone to serious injury that occurred in the Sixth Precinct's jurisdiction in 2021 as an example. At that time, Sixth Precinct Chief Tsai Yuan-jung was given one demerit for poor supervision because the police let the suspects go in the first instance. However, in the pepper spray incident, where no one suffered serious physical injury, Chou Chun-ming was given a demerit and removed from his post. Such differential treatment also makes the outside world question the standard of punishment and how to convince grassroots police officers. (Editor: Lung Po-an) 1150422
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(CNA Reporter Hao Hsueh-ching, Taichung, 22nd) The pepper spray incident involving Taiwan People's Party (TPP) founder Ko Wen-je was ultimately found to be an accidental discharge by Chou Chun-ming, the chief of the Sixth Precinct who was on site for security. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taichung City Council caucus held a press conference today, stating that the process is full of suspicious points and demanding that Mayor Lu Shiow-yen provide a clear explanation.
On the evening of the 17th, Ko Wen-je accompanied TPP Taichung city councilor candidate Liu Chin-yu to Fengchia Night Market for a campaign sweep, during which he was sprayed with pepper spray. Liu Chin-yu went to the Sixth Precinct on the morning of the 18th to file an injury complaint. Police investigation revealed that it was accidentally sprayed by Sixth Precinct Chief Chou Chun-ming during the security process. In addition to receiving a demerit, Chou Chun-ming was removed from his post and reassigned to a non-managerial role as a police inspector at the Taipei City Police Department.
Chou Yung-hung, convener of the DPP caucus in the Taichung City Council, led party councilors in a press conference at noon, questioning the many suspicious points of the case and demanding a direct response from Lu Shiow-yen and the Taichung City Police Department. The suspicious points include the fact that crucial evidence was already obtained on the afternoon of the 18th, yet the false information regarding this blunder was allowed to ferment in society for nearly 41 hours.
Chou Yung-hung mentioned that on the night of the 17th, no one had even officially reported the case yet. Why did the police department already dispatch personnel to search for the discarded pepper spray can? Furthermore, they found the discarded pepper spray can in a trash can at Fengchia Night Market in the early hours of the 18th. Since they could find the pepper spray can, why couldn't they find the person who threw it? This is highly questionable.
Wu Da-yung, deputy chief of the Sixth Precinct of the Taichung City Police Department, attended the press conference on behalf of the department. He explained that the subject is the precinct chief, his direct superior, and he is a subordinate. The entire case was led by the Inspector's Office of the City Police Department, and only the Inspector's Office is clear about the details. As for searching for the pepper spray can that same night, it was because a TPP candidate reported being attacked with pepper spray at the night market. The precinct took it very seriously and asked the local police station to search the centralized trash cans at the night market, which led to the discovery of a bottle of pepper spray.
Because Wu Da-yung was unable to fully answer the numerous questions raised by the councilors at the meeting, repeatedly answering, "The City Police Department will explain after the meeting," he was eventually asked by the caucus to leave the venue.
Chou Yung-hung believes that after the incident, the TPP used the media and social networks to step-by-step manipulate this blunder of police equipment failure into a script of political persecution, claiming "the DPP is tearing society apart," "indiscriminate attacks," and "Bluebird disruption," pointing the finger directly at the DPP and President Lai Ching-te. The city government clearly held the truth in its hands but chose to remain silent, allowing false information to spread everywhere. Whether this was "careful verification" or "deliberate connivance" should be clearly explained.
Chou Yung-hung also cited the case of a Maserati thug beating someone to serious injury that occurred in the Sixth Precinct's jurisdiction in 2021 as an example. At that time, Sixth Precinct Chief Tsai Yuan-jung was given one demerit for poor supervision because the police let the suspects go in the first instance. However, in the pepper spray incident, where no one suffered serious physical injury, Chou Chun-ming was given a demerit and removed from his post. Such differential treatment also makes the outside world question the standard of punishment and how to convince grassroots police officers. (Editor: Lung Po-an) 1150422
Choose to stand with the facts; every sponsorship you make is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the CNA "First Hand News" APP to grasp the latest news instantly.
The text, images, and audio/video on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and utilized without authorization.