The Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs yesterday voiced deep regret that a cross-strait concert was canceled on Sunday after protests descended into violence, while Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said there was no negligence on the part of the city government.
The “Sing! China: Shanghai-Taipei Music Festival” at National Taiwan University’s (NTU) athletic field, promoted by the Taipei and Shanghai municipal governments, and cosponsored by the Chinese reality television show Sing! China, was called off about two hours after its start after protests about the way the school was referred to by promoters, about damage done to the sports field and about students’ rights to use the athletic field.
The concert had been scheduled to run from 2pm to 10pm, but at 4pm organizers announced it was being halted.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Scattered incidents of violence were reported as the crowds began to disperse, with three students allegedly injured by a member of a pro-unification group.
In a news release issued yesterday morning, the Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs said it was sorry that the event ended in shambles, and that as the event’s co-organizer, it had tried to assist in the negotiations on Sunday afternoon between the main event organizer and the university.
Ko said the city had signed a memorandum of understanding on cultural cooperation and exchange with Shanghai’s municipal government in 2010, and cross-strait cultural events had been held for three straight years.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
As for the violence, the man who allegedly attacked the students had been caught by police on Sunday evening and the case would be dealt with according to the law, he said.
The city government would ensure the organizer repairs any damage caused to the university’s facilities, he said.
“Cultural exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are intended to increase kindness toward each other, not to increase conflict. However, we will have to put more thought into how we can do it in the future,” he said.
“The Taipei City Government was a co-organizer of the event, but so far I see no negligence on our part. We did all that we could,” Ko added, in response to reporters’ question about whether the city government had failed to prevent “united front” tactics by the Chinese organizers.
Taipei Cultural Affairs Commissioner Chung Yung-feng (鍾永豐) said the department should have advised the main organizer about the spirit of university autonomy in Taiwan, so that it would not only negotiate with the university authorities, but also allow the school’s student association to participate in the decisionmaking process.
As for complaints by students and others that the concert posters had called National Taiwan University “Taipei City Taiwan University,” the department had asked the main organizer to correct the errors after it discovered on Aug. 25 that the words “Taipei City” had been removed from all posters, tickets and stage panels.
Amid complaints by students saying that police showed up too late after violence erupted on Sunday, Taipei Police Department Deputy Commissioner Lin Shun-chia (林順家) said there had been negligence on the part of a police officer who received reports of problems on the campus, so the officer has been issued a demerit.
The police department received information about the protest and contacted university authorities, but the university refused to let police officers be deployed on campus, citing the principle of university autonomy, Lin said.
The local police station had received several reports about violence, but there was confusion about the exact location of the incident, as some reported it to be on the campus, so it took more time for police to arrive to handle the case, he said.
“The head of the Daan Precinct’s Roosevelt Road Police Station had 20 police officers at the station that could have been deployed at the time, but he tried to confirm and understand the situation,” Lin said.
“After a discussion today, we decided to remove him from his supervisory post,” Lin said.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS