More than 20 protesters — including local residents and 14 student supporters — who staged a peaceful sit-in demonstration against a wind turbine project in Yuanli Township (苑裡), Miaoli County, were handcuffed and taken away by police yesterday.
“I didn’t do anything wrong, why should I go with you?” a protester surnamed Lin (林) said as she was dragged away from the wind turbine construction site by the police.
Although the woman — as well as the other protesters — was not involved in any act of violence and did not resist when dragged away by the police, she was allegedly pushed to the ground by several police officers with their knees and had both her arms twisted around behind her back before being handcuffed.
Photo: Chang hsun-teng, Taipei Times
Police ignored her complaints that her arms hurt and she could hardly breathe after being pushed to the ground, saying only: “Nothing will happen to you if you don’t move.”
Lin’s case was not an isolated incident — all the other protesters who refused to leave the site were handcuffed and several were beaten with batons.
About 20 people were arrested and were transferred to Miaoli District Prosecutors’ Office. At press time, an injunction had been issued against 14 of the protesters.
Yesterday’s incident was the second in which police employed handcuffs and batons against peaceful protesters, after a similar incident at the turbine construction site on Saturday.
On Saturday, when one of the protesters who escaped arrest showed up at the Tongsiao Police Precinct where the arrested protesters were detained, an amateur video showed an unidentified senior officer yelling at him, telling him to go away, saying: “This is my place, not yours” and “go ahead and file a complaint against me.”
Usually in Miaoli, peaceful protesters are only taken into police vehicles nearby and released after the protest is over, and only those who are involved in violent acts, such as attacking officers or breaking the police line, are referred to the judiciary.
Facing criticism from the public, the Tongsiao Police Precinct defended its actions, saying that the protesters were handcuffed because they were “caught red-handed.”
Yuanli residents said that although they support green energy in principle, they were protesting against the InfraVest GmbH’s wind turbine project out of concern it might affect their quality of life, because some turbines are only 250m from their homes.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RSS