By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) yesterday urged the government to use the cross-strait judicial assistance agreement to recover a military decoration allegedly stolen by a Chinese tourist in Kinmen.
Chiu also demanded the Kinmen County Government apologize to the family of the late general Hu Lian (胡璉) after his Order of Blue Sky and White Sun medal was stolen on Friday from a sealed display case at an historic building in Kinmen.
The suspect was able to return to China due to the authorities being notified late, and through a lack of communication between the police and customs, Chiu said.
Hu, a former commander of Kinmen Defense Command renowned for his leadership during the second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), was in 1943 awarded the highest military decoration of the Republic of China for his accomplishments in the battle of West Hubei.
The medal had been on display at the Juguang Tower for six years after Hu’s son, Hu Chih-kuang (胡之光), granted permission for it to be displayed there.
At a press conference yesterday, Chiu blasted the local government for allowing the medal to be stolen from a public exhibition space and for its slow reaction to the case.
He demanded the National Police Agency enforce tighter surveillance on military bases on the island where “sensitive materials” are exhibited amid an influx of Chinese tourists.
Liu Chen-ju (劉真汝), section chief of the agency’s Investigation Section, said a tour guide reported the medal missing at 4pm on Friday and the local police station received information about the case at 5pm. The suspect left Kinmen for China at 4:30pm, she said.
Liu failed to provide any detailed information when asked how authorities would seek help from China in pursuing the case and recovering the medal.
“All I can say is we would seek as much help from China as -possible on the case,” she said.
The general’s grandson, Hu Min-yueh (胡敏越), attended the press conference and said the family was very sorry to learn the news and added that the Kinmen County Government has yet to contact the family and apologize.