The Taipei Police Department said yesterday that it would allocate 5,000 officers to help maintain order during a protest planned for tomorrow against President Chen Shui-bian (
The anti-Chen campaign has called for 2 million people to join its "siege" tomorrow by encircling the Presidential Office building from four directions during the Double Ten National Day celebration.
"The Double Ten National Day siege against Chen is illegal because the anti-Chen campaign did not apply to the city police department for a rally permit," Taipei City Police Department Commissioner Wang Cho-chiun (
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
"The rally would violate the Assembly and Parade Law (
He said if the anti-Chen campaign used the underground radio stations to call on the public to join the rally and to give orders during the campaign, as it proposed to do, it might violate the Broadcasting and Television Law (
Wang asked the anti-Chen camp to keep its supporters calm during the protest.
"Police will remove and arrest protesters if they break the law during the rally," he said.
The head of the department's Peacekeeping Division, Huang Ching-fu (
Special police are officers whose primary job is to keep order during mass demonstrations.
Huang said that maintaining the security of the Double Ten National Day celebration site, making sure foreign guests attending the celebration could easily enter and leave the site and preventing violence between rival groups outside parade site would be priorities.
Police imposed traffic control restrictions on roads of the Presidential Office yesterday that bar all vehicles from entering the streets near the Presidential Office. The restrictions will remain in effect through tomorrow.
Taipei MRT officials also announced yesterday that all exits of the National Taiwan University Hospital Station, Xiaonanmen Station and some of exits for the CKS Memorial Hall Station will be closed from 6am tomorrow until the the end of the official ceremony.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice yesterday designated a number of Taipei prosecutors to monitor tomorrow's protest.
The ministry said in a statement that anyone breaking the law would be prosecuted.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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