Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday accused the National Security Bureau (NSB) of monitoring hundreds of students, academics and activists involved in protests over land expropriation in Dapu Borough (大埔), Miaoli County.
“[The monitoring] is a modern-day White Terror. We ask the national security agencies to immediately stop such monitoring,” DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) told a press conference.
Chen said the watch list included film directors Yang Ya-che (楊雅吉吉), Leon Dai (戴立忍) and Ko I-cheng (柯一正), university student group leaders Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷) and Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) and several professors, including Hsu Shih-jung (徐世榮), Liao Pen-chuan (廖本全) and Frida Tsai (蔡培慧).
Photo: CNA
The people on the watch list were either being wiretapped, spied upon or investigated by police or bureau investigators, and anyone on the list who shows up at events attended by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) or Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) would be closely watched and removed, if necessary, Chen said.
The NSB has “instructed” the military, the military police, the police, prosecutors, the Ministry of Justice’s Bureau of Investigation and the Ministry of Education to gather information about people who were active in the protests, the lawmaker said.
However, on Monday, the National Police Agency denied the accusation by Lala Lin (林羿含), a singer who performed at an Aug. 16 rally in Miaoli, that she had been put on a watch list and police officers had visited her home in Greater Tainan.
DPP Legislator Wu Yi-chen (吳宜臻) said the NSB’s actions have violated the public’s freedom of speech and right to assembly. Students should not be placed on a watch list just for attending protests, Wu said.
The NSB issued a press release yesterday denying the accusations. The statement said the bureau was in charge of intelligence gathering and the planning and execution of special tasks.
“The bureau does not engage in those practices that go beyond its authorization,” it said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS