Taipei (ANTARA News/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?"
(Uu.E012/B002)

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