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A return to martial law must be prevented

A little after 7pm on Tuesday, former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) hosted a banquet at the Ambassador Hotel in Taipei for Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) and his delegation. This resulted in President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration imposing virtual martial law on areas surrounding the hotel. This was imposed without any legal basis and was but another form of “white terror.”

The Sunrise Record store on the corner of Minsheng E Road, north of the hotel, played the Songs of Taiwan. However, Lee Han-chin (李漢卿), chief of Beitou Police Department sent in officers who ordered the store to stop playing the music. The store was later ordered to close its doors for the day.

A similar incident happened involving former presidential advisor Ellen Huang (黃越綏) when she tried to enter the Ambassador Hotel to have a cup of coffee. She was refused entry and pushed to the ground by police officers.

Many people were also moved away from the Grand Formosa Regent Hotel, and some were violently assaulted by police officers. Our police have now become the equivalent of the Garrison Command in the White Terror period of the 1950s, free to take away the rights of our citizens whenever they want.

Sunrise Records was well within its rights to play Songs of Taiwan. It is a matter of freedom of speech, broadcasting and publication, and the forced closure of the shop was also a blatant breach of the store staff’s right to work.

How can the government of “Area Chief ” Ma blatantly deprive people of their rights and ignore the Constitution?

The incident where Huang was prevented from going to the hotel for a coffee was a breach of her freedom of movement, and the police acted against the Constitution in stopping her.

It was also a huge breach of the freedom of association for the police to break up and forcefully remove people from outside the Grand Formosa Regent Hotel.

Chen’s visit to Taiwan can be compared to an inspection tour like those conducted by official envoys of the emperor in ancient China. In imposing virtual martial law to control things during Chen’s visit, Ma has been bullying and suppressing his own people.

Since our government’s actions have not been subject to monitoring by the Control Yuan, people whose rights have been infringed by the Ma government over the last few days should lodge a request with the Control Yuan to impeach the president.



Chuang Po-lin is a lawyer.

TRANSLATED BY DREW CAMERON
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