The arrest of three journalists on Thursday for entering the Ministry of Education building to cover a protest over proposed adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines could muzzle the freedom of the press, one of those arrested said yesterday.
Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) photographer Liao Chen-huei (廖振輝), Coolloud Collective reporter Sung Hsiao-hai (宋小海) and freelance journalist Lin Yu-yo (林雨佑) were among 33 people detained by police for entering the building on Thursday night. The journalists were put under house arrest after each refused to post bail of NT$10,000 on Friday.
“I saw students breaking into [the ministry’s headquarters], and I instinctively thought that it might be a repetition of the Sunflower movement,” Liao said. “As a reporter, how could I not follow them to witness a historic moment?”
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The Sunflower movement was a 23-day student-led protest during which protesters occupied the main legislative chamber last year. The protest was over what critics called the government’s opaque handling of a service trade agreement with China.
Liao said he was at the site to cover protests in front of the building on Thursday night, adding that he followed protesters who entered the building, photographing events as they unfolded, including the initial arrests.
An officer tried to persuade him and the other two journalists to keep away while officers were making the arrests, Liao said.
However, they were allowed to remain until an officer, seemingly the commander on the scene, told them that the police had to arrest and detain students and reporters alike because the ministry insisted on filing charges against all intruders, Liao said, adding that the three journalists were not allowed to access their cellphones or laptops.
The police confiscated Liao’s cellphone, and his request to call the Liberty Times office to say he was safe was denied by police, who told Liao that they had to ask a supervisor for permission.
Liao said he did not know whether the officers had relayed his request, adding that he was not allowed to make any calls during the first few hours of his detention.
Liao asked why they were being treated like criminals when reporters were allowed into the Legislative Yuan during the Sunflower protests.
Police violence against reporters could easily lead to a chilling conclusion, he said.
Asked if he would cover protesters breaking into restricted sites again, despite spending a day in custody and facing a legal battle, Liao said: “I would definitely follow [protesters] and go where they go.”
“We need more reporters [at such occurences] so the government does not dare abuse its power and infringe on the freedom of the press,” he said.
Sung said that after being arrested, the three journalists were kept in the ministry’s lobby, with SWAT officers standing guard.
“I asked an officer: If we are being arrested, could we contact lawyers? However, the officer said he had to ask his supervisor,” Sung said. “We waited for more than an hour before someone said that the ministry would be pressing charges. However, when we were transferred to police headquarters at about 2am, the police said they had to make sure the ministry really wanted to take legal action.”
Lin said that when he was taking pictures before being arrested, officers tried to prevent him from doing so by covering his camera and threatening to arrest him for obstructing officers of the law.
“If the police were acting according to the law, why were they so afraid of journalists and protesters recording everything? What is the legal basis for the police to stop journalists and protesters from taking pictures?” Lin said.
Additional reporting by Loa Iok-sin
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
RSS