The Ministry of the Interior said yesterday that any attempt to ask for donations for the Sunflower movement against the cross-strait service trade agreement would constitute a violation of the Political Donation Act (政治獻金法), which is punishable by a fine of twice the amount of money raised and the confiscation of all donations.
The ministry made the remarks one day after a Facebook page, titled “Repairing 318 Legislative Yuan,” was set up by netizens supportive of the Sunflower movement to solicit money for repairs to the damage inflicted to the legislative chamber during the protesters’ 24-day occupation.
The netizens planned to use the money to cover the rental fees for audio equipment installed inside and outside the legislature during the protest, which is scheduled to come to an end today.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
Legislative Yuan staffers say the occupation has caused damage to chairs, doors, carpets, microphones, the broadcasting system and some valuable paintings.
“As the student movement is categorized as a political activity, any money donated to or raised for it will be deemed a political donation,” the ministry said, adding that only political parties, political associations and election candidates are allowed to accept political donations.
The ministry said student organizations that have claimed that their fund-raising attempts are for charitable purposes would have the legitimacy of their actions determined by the Control Yuan or the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The ministry’s statement drew immediate criticism from netizens, some citing the more than NT$100 million (US$3.3 million) raised in 2006 by civic groups supporting a movement against then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and accused the ministry of double standards.
“I wonder if anyone who solicited money for the movement at that time was ever fined,” a netizen wrote.
Separately yesterday, Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said that as many “kind-hearted people” have expressed an intention to pay for the repairs, not a penny of taxpayers’ money would be used to cover the costs of the restoration work on the legislature.
Tsai Wei-min (蔡衛民) of the Legislative Yuan’s General Affairs Department on Tuesday turned down the offer by netizens to help to pay for the repairs.
Meanwhile, Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said yesterday that the Cabinet plans to seek NT$3 million compensation from the protesters who broke into and briefly took over the Executive Yuan compound on March 23.
Sun said the protesters destroyed four timber doors, 13 windows, a refrigerator, a photocopy machine, a fax machine, a cabinet, and several tables and chairs, which combined were worth NT$3 million.
“All the parties involved in the brief occupation have given their statements to police and have been summoned by prosecutors for questioning. We will file a civil lawsuit against them once prosecutors conclude their investigation,” Sun said.
Sun said that the Executive Yuan “is not currently considering” dropping the case against the protesters and “has not thought about” the possibility of accepting donations from businesses rather than asking the protesters to pay for the damage.
Additional reporting by CNA
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said. “We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said. China’s growing
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
PUBLIC WARNING: The two students had been tricked into going to Hong Kong for a ‘high-paying’ job, which sent them to a scam center in Cambodia Police warned the public not to trust job advertisements touting high pay abroad following the return of two college students over the weekend who had been trafficked and forced to work at a cyberscam center in Cambodia. The two victims, surnamed Lee (李), 18, and Lin (林), 19, were interviewed by police after landing in Taiwan on Saturday. Taichung’s Chingshui Police Precinct said in a statement yesterday that the two students are good friends, and Lin had suspended her studies after seeing the ad promising good pay to work in Hong Kong. Lee’s grandfather on Thursday reported to police that Lee had sent
A Chinese ship ran aground in stormy weather in shallow waters off a Philippines-controlled island in the disputed South China Sea, prompting Filipino forces to go on alert, Philippine military officials said yesterday. When Philippine forces assessed that the Chinese fishing vessel appeared to have run aground in the shallows east of Thitu Island (Jhongye Island, 中業島) on Saturday due to bad weather, Philippine military and coast guard personnel deployed to provide help, but later saw that the ship had been extricated, Philippine navy regional spokesperson Ellaine Rose Collado said. No other details were immediately available, including if there were injuries among
RSS