Wang said the police had pulled the shutters down for safety reasons after protesters tried to surge into the store while the police were still talking to the staff.
“Director-General Wang said that the record store violated the Noise Control Act [噪音管制法] and that the police behaved in accordance with the act,” Shih said.
Shih said, however, that the police did not mention the law to the store owner at the time.
After Wang’s briefing, Ma told Wang that the police should inform protesters of the law or regulation that is being violated before taking action to remove them.
“If the police can’t make that clear at the scene, they should be able to explain to the media afterwards,” Shih quoted Ma as saying.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said protesters must express their opinions peacefully and that the police must respect and protect their rights. Ma values the importance of respecting legal activities and protecting law-abiding citizens, Wang said.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) asked the police to be careful in dealing with demonstrators lest it seem that the police are using excess force against them.
Meanwhile, KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) defended the police’s actions.
“The DPP should stop fueling conflict,” Lo told a press conference.
KMT Legislator Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) said she was disappointed at DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen’s failure to prevent members of the DPP from acts of “provocation” and clashing with government officials.
KMT spokesman Lee Chien-jung (李建榮) said earlier protests arranged by the pan-green camp at the Legislative Yuan and other locations had been approved it advance and were respected by the police. Lee said the KMT supported the police’s handling of the protests against Chen over the past few days.
“The KMT supports law enforcement agencies in their handling of the rallies, in which they have protected legal activities and clamped down on illegal ones,” Lee said in a written statement.
Former representative to the US Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), however, condemned “the excessive use of police force,” calling the situation “sad and crazy.”
“Many of the issues discussed in this round of negotiations were discussed under the DPP government. We were able to reach many agreements with Beijing without acquiescing to the ‘one China’ principle or accepting the so-called ‘1992 consensus,’” he said.
Taiwan, he said, used to pride itself as a stable democracy, but the apparent police brutality in the past three days had shamed the country.
He also said Chen was bluffing about his visit being apolitical.
“The very nature of his visit is very politically sensitive,” Wu said.
Additional reporting by Jenny W. Hsu, Mo Yan-chih,
Ko Shu-ling and Flora Wang
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