Taipei, March 21 (CNA) The Presidential Office released Sunday eight photos documenting the medical treatment given to President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu after they were both shot in a gun attack Friday, in a bid to dissipate opposition doubts about the incident.
Six photos of Chen and two of Lu were released during a press conference. Also present were two medical officials -- Hsiao Tzu-yu and Chien Hsiung-fei -- as well as photography official Liu Hsiu-ming, who accompanied the Chen-Lu ticket during their campaign in southern Taiwan, where the shooting took place.
Speaking at the news conference, Huang Chih-fang, director of the Public Affairs Department under the Presidential Office, said that he and the three officials all witnessed the attack, which took place in the southern city of Tainan ahead of Saturday's presidential poll.
Huang said that after the shooting, both Chen and Lu were rushed to Chi Mei Medical Center for emergency treatment and that Liu took photos of the process of the medical treatment.
As the opposition camp has cast doubt on the veracity of the attack, the Presidential Office decided to release the photos in an attempt to dissipate the doubts, even though the president's medical treatment data is supposed to be confidential, Huang told local reporters.
Huang voiced the hope that the publication of the photos will help put an end to disputes concerning the incident. The judicial authorities are investigating the attack and Chen will respect investigation results, Huang said.