《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 The ‘power of love surpasses violence,’ punched singer says

PUBLICITY: Local media identified the attacker as Chen Yen-heng and speculated that the little-known rapper attacked J.J. Lin to gain some exposure

Singaporean singer-songwriter J.J. Lin （林俊傑）, whose left ear was hurt when he was punched by a man at an event in Taipei on Thursday, responded yesterday by saying that love beats violence.

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“Thank you all. I believe the power of love surpasses violence,” he said in a post on social media yesterday.

Lin, 33, was signing autographs for his new album, Genesis （新地球）, in the Ximending （西門町） shopping district when a 32-year-old man surnamed Chen got on stage with other fans and took a swing at the singer, Wanhua District （萬華） police said.

Workers at the event quickly subdued the man and called the police.

Lin, who was struck on the side of the head, was taken to National Taiwan University Hospital, but left the emergency room shortly after arriving.

According to a diagnosis certificate issued by the hospital, Lin sustained contusions to his left ear from the blow.

He later went to the Wanhua police precinct to report the incident, before returning to the event to finish signing autographs.

“I don’t know the man who punched me,” Lin said.

The attacker, identified as Chen Yen-heng （陳彥衡） by local media, was taken to a police station for questioning, but did not say what his motives were for the attack, police said.

He will be charged with causing bodily harm, police added.

Chen was released on NT$20,000 bail after being questioned by prosecutors later on Thursday.

Local media speculated that Chen, a little-known rapper, attacked Lin to earn some media coverage.

Yesterday, he posted an 11-second video on Facebook that showed him punching Lin.

“Many problems with society’s biased values have surfaced after the punch. I think it’s worth it. If I don’t go to hell, who will?” Chen wrote. “I’m not afraid of pain. Come scold me. Come hit me.”

Despite the incident, Lin attended another autograph signing event yesterday in Greater Tainan.

The singer’s management company, Warner Music Taiwan, said it had hired security personnel to protect Lin, but only as a temporary measure.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES