Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) is to appear in the Taipei District Court today after being accused of attempted murder by Sunflower activists who were beaten by police after occupying the Executive Yuan.
It is the first time a premier has been accused of attempted murder and summoned to face charges, although prosecutors have not charged Jiang.
Jiang’s codefendants in the private prosecution include National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞), Taipei Police Commissioner Huang Sheng-yung (黃昇勇) and Zhongzheng First Police Precinct Chief Fang Yang-ning (方仰寧).
They have all been summoned to appear in court this afternoon.
A number of students and members of the public were beaten and injured by riot police on the night of March 23 and early the following morning after a small group of protesters stormed the Executive Yuan, briefly occupying it before being evicted by police.
The confrontation at the Executive Yuan came five days after protesters occupied the Legislative Yuan’s main chamber to protest against the government’s handling of the cross-strait service trade agreement.
Lawyers representing 23 injured protesters filed suit against Jiang and the three police officials on charges of attempted murder, coercion and causing bodily harm. The plaintiffs alleged riot police used truncheons and struck them on their heads with force.
Jiang was named because he ordered police to remove the occupiers of the Executive Yuan by force.
The Executive Yuan yesterday said Jiang and his codefendants are to appear in court this afternoon to answer questions.
Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) and Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷), two prominent Sunflower movement leaders, said they will be present outside the court to lend support to the plaintiffs.
Other leading Sunflower movement figures, student groups and rights organizations have said they will also mobilize members to go to the courthouse.
Zhongzheng First Police Precinct officials said they have called for reinforcements to provide security and protect the defendants, and to prevent any trouble at the courthouse.
Lee Po-chang (李柏璋), a well-known Sunflower movement figure, posted “Death to Tyranny!” on Facebook yesterday after it was announced that Jiang would appear in court.
AIMED AT TAIWAN? Institute for National Defense and Security Research research fellow Ou Si-fu said chips can be ‘bought off the shelf’ and then used in weapons The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday said that chips from Taiwanese semiconductor companies were not making their way into Chinese missiles “to the best of our knowledge.” A report in yesterday’s Washington Post alleged that a Chinese company named Phytium Technology Co (飛騰) used chips made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), along with US software, in advanced Chinese military systems. “TSMC has long placed strict controls on their chips. The export of high-tech products from Taiwan is also highly regulated,” Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said. “According to our understanding, none of the end uses for those products
HEATED TRAFFIC: As Beijing holds naval drills near Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defense said it had a full grasp of the situation and would handle it ‘appropriately’ A Chinese carrier group exercising near Taiwan is part of what are to be regular drills, the Chinese navy said in a statement late on Monday, further escalating tensions between Taipei and Beijing. The group, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning, was conducting “routine” drills in the waters around Taiwan, a move to “enhance its capability to safeguard national sovereignty, safety and development interests,” the statement said. “Similar exercises will be conducted regularly,” it said, without elaborating. The statement came after the Ministry of National Defense earlier on Monday issued a statement regarding a rise in the number of incursions by Chinese jets into
NO TIME: The driver tried to apply the brakes when he saw the truck, but the train did not have time to come to a full stop, an investigation report said The crane truck that caused last week’s fatal train accident had slid onto the tracks about one-and-a-half minutes before it was struck, the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board said yesterday. The board had launched an investigation into the derailment, which killed 50 people and injured 211 people, making it the nation’s most devastating railway accident in decades. Carrying 494 passengers and four Taiwan Railways Administration personnel, the southbound express train to Taitung hit the truck as it was about to enter the Cingshuei Tunnel (清水隧道) in Hualien’s Sioulin Township (秀林). The train derailed following the collision, with the left side of the eighth
‘IMPORTANT PARTNER’: The new guidelines aim to encourage US engagement with Taiwan, which reflects a deepening relationship, the US Department of State said The US Department of State on Friday issued new guidelines governing US officials’ interactions with their Taiwanese counterparts, a move welcomed by Taipei as turning a new page in bilateral relations. Shortly before leaving office, then-US secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Jan. 9 announced the cancelation of previous contact guidelines, which he said were “self-imposed restrictions” that attempted to appease the Chinese Communist Party regime in Beijing. However, the status of the guidelines has been unclear since US President Joe Biden entered the White House. Asked about the issue during a legislative session on Thursday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu
RSS