Several civic groups yesterday demanded that the Assembly and Parade Law (
"The law is supposed to ensure the public's freedom to assemble and stage rallies; instead, it has become a means for the police to suppress public opinion," said Liu Ching-yi
Lin made the remarks at a hearing organized by Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Lai Shin-yuan (
Huang Te-pei (
"Last May, our labor union was protesting in front of the headquarters of Chunghwa Telecom. It was a legal action, but the police tried to disperse us," said Simon Chang (張緒中), president of Chunghwa Telecom's Workers' Union.
Under current regulations, the police are given the power to permit or deny applications for assembly, restrict protesters' activities, maintain order and dismiss an assembly, but no norm is given as to how this power should be exercised.
The alliance called for cancelation of the regulation that people cannot assemble without a permit, demanding that this be replaced by registration.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (
She suggested that the government to abolish the Assembly and Parade Law.
Liu said that the freedom of assembly, which allows the public to voice their opinion, is a very important element of a civil society.
"It's hard to build up a real civil society if people can't shake off the fear of being dispersed, arrested, or indicted because of their participation in a gathering," Liu said.
Vice Minister of the Interior Chien Tai-lang (
"I know the Assembly and Parade Law is not perfect. However, the main purpose of it is still to defend people's freedom of assembly, and maintaining order is supplementary. We still need the law, but we are open to making changes," Chien said.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
RSS