Police organize forces for planned `siege'

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 (陳水扁).

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 (王卓鈞) told a press conference yesterday.

"The rally would violate the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法)," Wang said. "Such a violation will have an impact on future applications made by the anti-Chen camp for protest campaigns."

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 (廣播電視法).

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 (黃清福), told the press conference that 3,600 special police and 1,400 Taipei police officers would be deployed to maintain order and monitor the protest.

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.