As the divisions brought out by the protests to remove the president deepen, police yesterday came under criticism over their handling of sporadic incidences of violence over the weekend.
Numerous minor scuffles broke out on Saturday between supporters of President Chen Shui-bian (
National Police Agency Director-General Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) yesterday told the media that police would not tolerate any violence, and that police were attempting to identify all suspects involved in the scuffles on Saturday.
PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Hou said police had already identified individuals who allegedly harassed local TV anchors during Saturday's rally held in support of Chen.
Those suspects would be interviewed soon after they were located, Hou added.
However, some people criticized the police for not "applying same speedy action" when looking for anti-Chen protesters who harassed and attacked pro-Chen supporters as they walked past Taipei Railway Station on their way home.
On Saturday, an anchor and cameraman for CtiTV were trying to hold a live interview of DPP Legislator Wang Shih-cheng (
Their television station has set up a platform near Jing Fu Men (
The anchor was forced to stop the interview after demonstrators, who had been cheering in support of Wang, started booing the anchor after they realized which station he was from. Many pan-green supporters perceive CtiTV as having pro-China sympathies.
Eventually, one pro-Chen demonstrator partially obscured the camera lens with a rain jacket, while another jumped up on the platform and tried to speak, eventually unplugging a power cable. CtiTV cut off its coverage because of the "rioters," cutting back to their newsdesk.
No one was hurt in the incident.
Minutes later, an Eastern Television anchorwoman and cameraman were also forced to stop their live broadcast, after six or seven demonstrators jumped onto the platform and interrupted their broadcast. Again, no one was injured.
More serious tussles took place as pro-Chen supporters started showing up at Taipei Railway Station on their way home.
double standards?
Contemporary Monthly's editor-in-chief, Chin Heng-wei (
"By all means we condemn any use of violence," Ching said at an event held by the DPP's Taipei mayoral candidate, Frank Hsieh (謝長廷).
He then compared the response to Chinese Unity Promotion Party chairman Lin Cheng-chieh's (
"Those people at [Saturday's] rally did not in any way assault the anchors, yet many of the TV cable news stations labeled them as rioters. Meanwhile, Lin, who resorted to physical violence and attacked me, was being welcomed as a hero at the anti-Chen venue, and was busy signing autographs," Chin said.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS