The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld the “not guilty” verdict for the 22 defendants who occupied the Legislative Yuan during a protest in 2014, saying they were exercising their right to political dissent and freedom of speech.
The 22 were first acquitted in March last year and public prosecutors are unlikely to appeal yesterday’s decision in accordance with the Criminal Speedy Trial Act (刑事妥速審判法) of 2010.
The defendants and other protesters stormed the legislature on March 18, 2014, and occupied the legislative chamber for almost 23 days in what became known as the Sunflower movement.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The defendants included members of different activist groups, such as Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆), Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷), Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), Tsay Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴) and Wei Yang (魏揚). While the Taipei District Court acquitted the group on charges of “civil disobedience,” the High Court based its decision on the protection of freedom of speech and right to dissenting views.
Reading the court’s ruling, High Court spokesman Chiu Chung-yi (邱忠義) said that the defendants acted in response to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chang Ching-chung (張慶忠) and other KMT lawmakers’ rush to pass the cross-strait service trade agreement draft bill through a legislative subcommittee without following proper procedures.
The defendants’ action “did not cause any clear and immediate danger,” Chou said, adding that according to Council of Grand Justices’ Interpretation No. 455, the defendants should be given protection under freedom of speech, for which they should not be oppressed or punished in the aftermath of their undertaken acts.
The High Court determined that the group was “urging other protesters to enter the legislature together as a group to express their discontent and opposition to the cross-strait agreement.”
“They were not maligning and vilifying indiscriminately, nor did they incite the crowd to commit acts of violence against the government,” the ruling said.
“At that time, the draft bill was headed for a vote in the legislature within three days. The defendants decided that occupying the legislature was their only recourse, as they perceived there was insufficient time and no other effective way to block the draft bill,” it said.
“That people can express contrary opinions on public affairs issues demonstrates the freedom of expression that Taiwan’s society has fought to earn through very difficult circumstances,” it said.
“The acquittal proves that the cross-strait agreement had done grave harm to our constitutional democracy. We are not guilty, but the real guilty ones are [then-president] Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his government, and KMT Legislator Chang Ching-chung, who tried to ram the draft bill through by using illegal and unconstitutional means,” said Huang, now New Power Party executive chairman.
Chen said the ruling serves as a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) “that you could be an emperor and extend your rule indefinitely, but Taiwan is a democratic nation.”
“Xi should not infringe on Taiwan’s territory, because Taiwanese will rise and fight, and our democracy and the judiciary will protect the public’s rights,” Chen said.
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