Activists yesterday clashed with police during a protest outside Premier Jiang Yi-huah’s (江宜樺) residence, asking him to halt construction work at Losheng (Happy Life) Sanatorium and rebuild demolished buildings on the site.
“Premier Jiang, please save Losheng, halt the construction, rebuild the sanatorium,” dozens of members of the Youth Alliance for Losheng shouted as they clashed with police outside the premier’s residence in Taipei.
The activists arrived outside Jiang’s residence at about 6am without prior notice, hoping to see Jiang and deliver their petition to him before he left for work.
Photo: Hou Po-ching, Taipei Times
However, though the shouting attracted the attention of Jiang, who looked out from a second-floor window for a few seconds, he neither met with the students nor took their petition.
Police quickly removed the protesters by force and arrested 14.
Jiang made no comment on the protest when he left home at about 8am.
“We came here to see Jiang, because when we went to the Executive Yuan on Feb. 27, he simply ignored us,” Lin Ching (林沁), a National Taiwan University (NTU) student and a member of the alliance, told reporters. “In March last year, the government promised that construction at Losheng Sanatorium — suspended due to landslides — would not resume until they find a way to solve the landslide issue. However, construction resumed last week.”
“As a political science professor at NTU, Jiang visited Losheng in 2007 and signed a petition to support its preservation. We want to remind him of the promise he made, and ask him to host talks to resolve the issue,” Lin said.
Losheng Sanatorium, located in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Sinjhuang District (新莊), was built in the 1930s for people with leprosy.
A movement to preserve the sanatorium complex began in 2004 when it was selected as the site for a Mass Rapid Transit system maintenance depot and was to be completely demolished.
In 2007, a compromise plan allowed for the preservation of a small part of the complex, while the rest was to be demolished.
However, work has stopped several times due to landslides.
Another NTU student, Lin Hsiu-tung (林秀芃), accused Jiang of “not wanting to face the mistakes that the government made.”
“He saw us from his second-floor window, but would not meet us or speak with us,” Lin said.
Of the 14 students arrested, 13 were released soon after, while 21-year-old NTU student Kuo Kuan-chun (郭冠均) was charged with violations of the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法).
Several activists rallied outside the Taipei District Court in support of Kuo and accused the police of brutality as Kuo appeared in court.
At about 4:30pm, Kuo walked free as the judge cleared him of any wrongdoing.
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
RSS