Political 'Rambo' denies knife attack reports

The former 'Rambo' of Taiwan's legislature has denied reports he was critically injured in a weekend attack by three knife-wielding assailants at a restaurant in Xiamen , Fujian province .

Former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Ju Gao-jeng said he was safe and travelling in a remote part of southern Fujian. He was communicating through his Taipei office.

Taiwanese media outlets reported yesterday that Mr Ju was dining at a hotpot restaurant in Xiamen at 4am on Sunday when three men rushed into the restaurant and attacked him.

The reports quoted a Xiamen-based Taiwanese businessman as saying Mr Ju grabbed a chair and tried to fend off the attack before collapsing.

Kao Cheng-sheng, deputy director of Taiwan's Criminal Police Department, confirmed earlier in the day that Mr Ju had been knifed.

Mr Ju said through his Taipei office that he was dismayed to learn of reports that he had been knifed.

He said he was visiting a village in southern Fujian where communication was inconvenient.

'The fact is I am safe and sound and do not plan to change my schedule,' he said.

A Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman in Xiamen said yesterday that police had said they had not received any reports of knife attacks involving Taiwanese.

Mr Ju was known for his violent antics during his spell as a DPP legislator between 1987 and 1999, when the Kuomintang dominated the legislature.

The scuffles he sparked were reported by the international media and earned him a reputation as the 'Rambo' of the legislature. After he left the DPP, Mr Ju went to the mainland, where he was a visiting law professor at Peking University.