A coalition on Wednesday spoke out against a proposal by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to tighten rules on protests in the city. The proposed rules, which are aimed mainly at the temporary structures that have been a mainstay of major protests in the city, would be unconstitutional, the coalition said.
Article 14 of the Constitution states: “The people shall have freedom of assembly and association,” but the government has attempted to more clearly define the limits of this freedom through the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法).
The act was implemented in 1988 following the lifting of martial law in an attempt to prevent protests from devolving into violence during democratization. The act has frequently been criticized.
Nylon Cheng Liberty Foundation managing director Cheng Tsing-hua (鄭清華) on Saturday last week said that the act, along with other legislation, restricts people’s right to freely express themselves.
Whether the government is intentionally suppressing dissent or not, it faces a precarious challenge in balancing public order with freedom of expression.
The first amendment to the US Constitution attempts to address this challenge, stating that people have the right to “peaceably assemble,” thereby empowering authorities to break up protests that have turned violent. Federal and local authorities in the US can set rules on when and where protests can take place, but they should impose as few restrictions as possible on constitutional freedoms. Legal precedents prevent the breakup of protests simply because they cause inconvenience or bother people, or impede traffic (Edwards v. South Carolina, 372 US 229, 1963, and Coates v. City of Cincinnati, 402 US 611, 1971).
Many might see Ko’s argument that protesters building temporary structures are “political road hogs” as insufficient justification for further restrictions on demonstrations, especially since draft amendments to the act that lessen restrictions have already been proposed.
New Power Party Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) in February criticized President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for not reforming the act, despite earlier promises to do so.
Arguably, some of the articles in the act are undemocratic and set dangerous precedents. For example, Article 4 states: “Communism or secession shall not be asserted in any assembly or parade.”
In no way should the law in a democratic country dictate a person’s public expression of political will, and attempts to legally suppress public support for Taiwanese independence would be farcical given the political climate in Taiwan.
Article 6 makes demonstrations in front of government buildings, transportation hubs and military facilities illegal, which negates the purpose of protests in the first place, which is to force the authorities to hear grievances and make as much of the public as possible aware of the dissenting message.
Finally, Article 28 empowers authorities to issue dismissal orders on protesters and imposes heavy fines for non-compliance. The government has a responsibility to ensure public safety and maintain public order, but it must not use this responsibility as a pretext for suppression of dissent.
At the same time, the erection and occupation of temporary structures for months or years presents all sorts of legal complications. In many countries, a person would not be permitted to build a shelter on a sidewalk or public property for use as a residence, because it violates laws against encroachment, illegal lodging and obstructing free passage. They also pose sanitation and even safety issues, such as when gas cookers are used. Yet authorities often “tolerate” these structures when the expressed intent is protest.
Unquestionably the act must be amended, but more deliberation is needed to determine what restrictions on protest are reasonable and democratic.
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry