Hakka Affairs Council Minister Lee Yung-te (李永得) has sparked controversy by criticizing the Taipei City Police Department for stopping him at random and demanding that he show his national identity card.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Lee said he was stopped earlier in the day by police officers near a convenience store close to the Taipei Bus Station.
Lee wrote that he felt he was unlawfully stopped while he was out shopping and had refused to provide identification.
Photo: CNA
“This is unbelievable. I was just going to the convenience store to buy stuff and five or six police officers showed up, demanding my papers. When did Taipei become a police state?” he wrote.
The officers’ commander, Captain Chen Feng-sheng (陳豐盛), later on Sunday confirmed that Lee had been stopped, but said that his officers had made a lawful and appropriate stop.
A patrol observed a man in sandals at 3:40pm — later identified as Lee — who behaved as if he was “in a hurry” and gave them “sideways looks,” Chen said.
Deciding that the man’s behavior was suspicious, the officers stopped him to ask for his identification, which he refused, and then argued with them, Chen said.
After reviewing the officers’ body camera footage, it appears the officers had behaved politely and lawfully, Chen said.
Lee yesterday said that he did not mean to cause difficulties for the police, but the officers had failed to follow the Council of Grand Justices’ constitutional Interpretation No. 535, which forbids police from making arbitrary or random stops.
“I have a right as a citizen to question the police in a rational way and only wished the police would follow the law when they do their jobs, or I will not be the last one to be inconvenienced,” he said.
The police department was only making excuses for its misconduct, he said.
Police Commander Chiang Tsu-pei (姜祖培) yesterday said that officers are authorized to stop people with reasonable cause, but the department might review its standards for “reasonable cause” if the public feels that officers are not acting appropriately.
Taipei City Government spokeswoman Liu Yi-ting (劉奕霆) said the police had adequately explained the incident, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was in agreement with the police and the city fully complies with laws and regulations.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) deputy director of culture and communications Tang Te-ming (唐德明) said Lee should not have appeared suspicious.
“Why did the police not stop anybody but you? You should reflect on that,” Tang said.
Lee’s wife, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), yesterday defended him.
“No one brings an ID with them just to buy beverages at a convenience store. The police acted in a ridiculous manner,” she said.
Lee’s Facebook page has been flooded with comments, some supporting him and others backing the police.
Additional reporting by Lin Liang-sheng
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
RSS