Taiwan MP apologises to Muslims for bin Laden ‘joke’
A Taiwan lawmaker apologised to Muslims on Monday after he and his wife labelled them “militants”
TAIPEI (AFP) – A Taiwan lawmaker apologised to Muslims on Monday after he and his wife labelled them “militants” and compared them to Osama bin Laden, in an apparent joke during a political gathering.
“I apologise if what we said on the stage made Muslims feel upset,” Yu Tien, a singer-turned politician from the island’s leading opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), told reporters.
The event happened when Yu, whose mouth has repeatedly got him into trouble, and his wife Lee Ya-ping, were out campaigning.
While rallying the crowd, Lee admitted that she used to be very dominant at home and compared herself to bin Laden.
“I used to be a Muslim, militant…like the famous bin Laden,” she said at a gathering of hundreds of DPP supporters in New Taipei City on Sunday night.
Yu responded, saying: “People always said I feared my wife. Now you can see, as what I have been facing is a Muslim militant, how could I not fear her?”
