Alexander family hostage crisis

On the evening of 18 November 1997, wanted fugitive Chen Chin-hsing forcibly entered the Taipei home of South African military attaché McGill Alexander at approximately 7:00 pm local time, entering through the garage. The first family member he encountered was McGill's twelve-year-old daughter, Christine, who was playing piano at the time. Chen put his arm around her neck and forced her upstairs to where the rest of the family was located.

Once upstairs, Chen ordered another of McGill's daughters, Melanie, at gunpoint to call CNN. Melanie called a friend who worked at the network, and within an hour media had been alerted and police surrounded the house. According to reports, police taunted Chen as they surrounded the property, and despite his warnings to stay back, officers advanced toward the house. Chen opened fire while holding Melanie as a human shield. After McGill repeatedly pleaded with him, Chen released Melanie and took McGill as a shield instead. Police had by then entered through the garage; Chen fired on officers rushing up the stairs, forcing them to retreat. During the exchange of gunfire, one of Chen's shots passed through Melanie's wrist and lodged in her back between two arteries near her pelvis, and McGill was shot in the leg.

Negotiations began after Chen demanded that politician Frank Hsieh personally negotiate the release of Chen's wife and brother-in-law, who were at the time serving sentences of 12 years and life imprisonment, respectively, for their alleged involvement in an earlier murder case. Hsieh arrived at 9:00 pm and negotiations began at 10:00 pm. These talks secured the release of McGill and Melanie so they could receive treatment for their injuries. On the morning of 19 November, police brought Chen's wife to the house to help mediate. Subsequent negotiations led to the release of the family's foster son and Christine. McGill's wife, Anne, was the last hostage released, and her release on 19 November ended the standoff; police announced its conclusion at 4:00 pm that day.

After the hostages were freed, police seized Chen. He was later found guilty on charges including sexual assault, kidnapping, and murder — stemming in part from his involvement in the earlier killing of Pai Hsiao-yen, daughter of actress Pai Bing-bing and manga creator Ikki Kajiwara — and was executed on 6 October 1999.

Following the crisis, the Alexander family publicly stated they forgave Chen before his execution. The incident prompted Taiwanese police to develop improved tactics for handling hostage situations. McGill Alexander later wrote a book about the events, Hostage in Taipei, published in 2000, which was translated into Chinese and published the following year.