Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday the party would stage a 24-hour sit-in protest in front of the Presidential Office following its rally on May 17.
“The government intends to pass the amendment to the Assembly and Parade Act [集會遊行法] before the May 17 rally, which is a sign that the government is returning to the authoritarian period,” Tsai said. “I have asked all officials and staffers from the party to stay and join the 24-hour sit-in protest on Ketagalan Boulevard after the May 17 rally finishes at 10pm.”
Tsai, who is visiting the US, told a press conference via teleconference yesterday: “The sit-in protest is aimed at breaking the restrictions of the Assembly and Parade Act.”
Tsai was referring to an amendment proposed by the Cabinet that would give police the right to prevent a rally or change its route if they deemed it a threat to national security, social order or the public interest. The proposal would also give police the authority to break up any rally that blocked traffic.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) last month urged the legislature to pass two UN covenants, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Tsai said, “yet the proposed amendment obviously violates the treaties.”
“‘Return the streets to the people’ was a campaign promise of Ma’s, yet it has become a political joke” because the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) wants to restrict the public’s right to take to the streets, she said.
The theme of the May 17 rally will be to protest against the government’s China policies and call on the government to protect Taiwan’s democracy, freedom and sovereignty, Tsai said, adding that it would be peaceful.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS