Taiwanese flock to defence of man who tried to highlight plight of producers
Police who recently arrested Yang Ju-men on suspicion of being Taiwan's so-called 'rice bomber' say he is a terrorist.
But to the farmers whose plight he was reportedly trying to highlight, he is nothing less than a hero, a Robin Hood figure and a champion of a just cause ignored by the government.
Yang, who police say has confessed to being the rice bomber, is blamed for planting 17 explosive devices in Taipei in the past year. Each carried a trademark sprinkling of rice and a letter accusing the government of ignoring the plight of farmers by opening Taiwanese markets to foreign rice in 2002.
One of the small bombs exploded outside the Legislative Yuan building in June and another outside the Ministry of Education building recently.
Yang's capture on November 26, however, has not been widely applauded.
Farmers from Yang's home town of Changhwa, in central Taiwan, are instead raising funds to defend him, and a committee made up of farmers' and workers' representatives has been set up to help the 25-year-old. Three lawyers have volunteered their services to Yang.