The Taipei District Court on Friday ruled that the Taipei City Government must pay NT$300,000 in compensation to a man who was beaten by police during a crackdown on the Sunflower movement protests at the Executive Yuan in March and April last year.
Lin Ming-hui (林明慧), a teacher from Taichung, filed the suit alleging excessive use of force in violation of the Act Governing the Use of Police Weapons (警械使用條例).
Lin sought compensation from the Executive Yuan, Taipei City Government, National Police Agency and Taipei City Police Department.
Photo: Chang Wen-chuan, Taipei Times
Lin said he took part in a sit-in protest at the Executive Yuan on March 24 last year.
“The protesters sat on the ground peacefully, and nobody had a weapon. But the riot police used violent tactics and wielded batons, striking people,” he said.
A picture of Lin walking away to receive medical treatment, his face and clothing covered in blood, was among the most prominent photographs featured in media coverage of the protesters’ occupation of the Executive Yuan.
Following Friday’s ruling, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that his government would not appeal the decision.
Lin said he wants to salute the judge for the decision, as winning the case has symbolic meaning.
“However, the government is still applying the same old authoritarian thinking to the current protest by high-school students against textbook curriculum guideline changes,” he said.
Lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said the ruling was to rectify the government’s unlawful actions and could be used for reference in future litigation.
“It was regrettable that the court did not hold former premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) responsible, as he ordered the police to remove the protesters,” Koo said.
The ruling cited the use of excessive police force against protesters, as Lin was holding on to another person next to him when police tried to disperse the crowd by pulling them away one by one.
“Police may use physical force to remove and carry people away, but when using batons, the officers should only have struck at Lin’s hands, and not at his head,” the ruling said.
It added that in Lin’s case, the officers had violated Articles 9 and 10 of the Act Governing the Use of Police Weapons, which state: “The police should avoid using lethal force unless the situation is so imminent that the lives of officers or bystanders are being threatened,” and “after using the police weapons, the police officer must report his/her use to his/her immediate supervisors except for using a baton as a way to give directions.”
Throughout the hearing and investigation, the police force did not take steps to identify the officer who hit Lin. Instead, it gave the captain of the riot police squad two demerits as punishment.
Lin’s lawyer, Lu Chiu-yuan (呂秋遠), said that was not good enough.
“It has been over a year since the incident, but police are still unable to find out the identity of the officer,” he said. “I hope Mayor Ko can help to find the officer responsible, because we must not let taxpayers foot the bill for police violence.”
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he