More than 120 academics and human rights activists said yesterday they would turn themselves in to prosecutors for breaking the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) in a protest against the legislation.
One after another, more than 30 people gave their name and occupation at a press conference in Taipei, telling prosecutors that they had violated the Act and would like to turn themselves in.
They did so in a show of support for National Taiwan University (NTU) sociology professor Lee Ming-tsung (李明璁) and Taiwan Association for Human Rights chairman Lin Chia-fan (林佳範), who have been indicted for contravening the Act in May and last month respectively.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Lee was indicted for taking a leading role in a student demonstration outside the Executive Yuan last November that demanded a revision of the Act, while Lin was indicted for organizing a separate demonstration outside the legislature.
“We believe that the right to assemble and parade are fundamental rights protected by the Constitution and that peaceful assembly is not an illegal act,” said NTU law professor Yen Chueh-an (顏厥安), whose name topped the “surrender list.”
“We have all taken to the streets without government permission. Therefore, if Lee and Lin are guilty, we’re equally guilty,” he said.
National Tsing Hua University sociology professor Lii Ding-tzann (李丁讚) said he would also turn himself in, even though he didn’t think he had done anything illegal.
“I want to do so because the Assembly and Parade Act is unconstitutional and I want to debate it with a judge and a prosecutor in court,” he said.
He also accused the judiciary of becoming a tool of the executive branch by “threatening people not to speak out and prosecuting people who do.”
More than 50 lawyers joined the campaign by volunteering to provide legal assistance to those on the list.
Meanwhile, the activists and academics also called on the Cabinet and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to reconsider their version of an amendment to the Act.
Although the Cabinet-proposed revision removes the requirement for organizers to apply for permission before holding a rally, organizers must obtain authorization from the owner of the venue beforehand.
“Since most demonstrations are held in public places, organizers would have to get authorization from the government,” said Liu Ching-yi (劉靜怡), a professor at NTU’s Graduate Institute of National Development.
“So how is that different from applying for a permit?” Liu said.
Liu said she also did not agree with the amendment granting police the power to maintain order and disband demonstrations.
“It makes police both player and referee,” she said.
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
WARNING: China should stop engaging in actions that undermine regional peace and stability, as it would only build resentment among people across the Strait, the CGA said China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in waters from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met in Beijing, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. “In this part of the world, #China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Wu wrote on X. In a separate post, he said Beijing was coercing Taiwan’s maritime domain, calling it illegal and provocative, after the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) expelled a
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
More than 8,000 people took part in a rally in Taipei yesterday to express support for more defense spending, after the opposition slashed the Cabinet’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.6 billion) special defense budget and capped it at NT$780 billion. The demonstrators urged the Cabinet to propose another bill. Taiwan Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) said the main problem of the passed budget plan is the removal of funding for critical items, not just that the total amount is smaller. Critical budget items included purchasing or developing uncrewed vehicles, Strong Bow (強弓) missile systems, additional ammunition, artificial intelligence-powered combat systems and Taiwan-US
RSS