Two injured as demonstration at office of legislature's speaker turns violent

A protest outside the office of Speaker of the Legislative Yuan Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) turned violent yesterday, leaving two people injured.

Supporters of the DPP gathered at 8am in Fengshan City, Kaohsiung County to protest Wang's refusal to meet with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and the KMT's attempt to recall the president. An hour later the group had swelled to more than 500 and a large contingent of police officers was called in to maintain order.

Many protesters cursed Wang, calling for him to be recalled and some turned their anger on the police. They were restrained, however, by police and reminders that Chen is now president and the police represent his government.

At 10am the, police tried to disperse the crowd by holding up a placard saying that the protesters did not have a permit for a demonstration. When there was little response to a subsequent order, representatives of the protesters came forward to negotiate, demanding that a letter from allied groups supporting Chen and opposed to the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四廠) be received by a representative of Wang's office.

The letter contained three requests: first that the speaker of the Legislative Yuan represent all the people and not just the KMT, second that Wang lead the Legislative Yuan to act as a stabilizing force for the country and not a source of instability, and finally that Chen Shui-bian be given a little time, allowing Taiwan to become a nuclear-free zone.

Soon after the letter was received by Su Ming-cheng (蘇明成), director of service for Wang and as the protesters prepared to disperse, 23-year-old Chiu Jen-hsiang (邱仁祥) approached the crowd yelling angrily, "You bastards. Recalling Wang makes no sense!"

He was angry apparently because the demonstrators had obstructed traffic in the area. As a result, he was surrounded and beaten by the crowd, suffering cuts on his nose and neck, as well as having his shirt torn from his body. Seeing the situation, the police rescued him and held the crowd at bay.

Soon thereafter, a similar skirmish occurred between a news photographer and the crowd but was quickly suppressed again by police. Both victims were escorted by police to the Kaohsiung Military Hospital and the crowd gradually dispersed.

In response to the demonstrations, Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Yu Shyi-kun said, "Regarding the clash outside the office of speaker of the Legislative Yuan, we believe that every organ of the government, whether local or central, must govern according to the law. We absolutely will not tolerate any sort of violence. We emphasize that no form of violence can be tolerated."