A "martial law mindset" still exists in various aspects of Taiwanese bureaucracy 20 years after martial law was lifted, non-governmental groups said yesterday after examining events over the past year.
The Assembly and Parade Law (
The Assembly and Parade Law, passed in 1992, provides strict regulations for organizing demonstrations and requires that would-be demonstrators apply for a permit before holding a public gathering.
"The law places obstacle after obstacle in the way of demonstrations ... and gives the police too much power," said Liu Shu-ya (
Under the Assembly and Parade Law, police officers at the site of a protest have the authority to call off the demonstration if they deem an act there to be illegal, Liu said.
Simon Chang (
He said that one of the union's previous protests had not been declared illegal, even after union members threw eggs at police.
"But nowadays most of us have been arrested or prosecuted for violating the Assembly and Parade Law even though demonstrations are more peaceful," he said. "So what difference has the end of martial law made?"
Meanwhile, president of the Judicial Reform Foundation Lin Feng-cheng (
"After the Hsichih Trio were sentenced to death last month, the presiding judge said: `I could not find a reason to declare them not guilty,'" Lin said. "If a judge needs to find a reason to prove someone's innocence, the judiciary is obviously a remnant of martial law."
Lin was referring to three young men who were first convicted of murder 16 years ago in a case riddled with problems such as a lack of evidence and allegations that the defendants confessions were extracted through torture.
Although the three were acquitted in 2003 after a long struggle by human rights and judicial reform activists, the Taiwan High Court reversed the decision last month.
In related news, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday called on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), to face up to history and correct the mistakes that the KMT made during its administration.
Martial law was imposed on Taiwan by the KMT regime from 1949 to 1987.
Lu, who is on a 12-day journey to three of the nation's allies in Central America and the Caribbean, made the remarks in Guatemala -- the last leg of her trip -- in response to questions about a series of activities organized by the KMT to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the lifting of martial law.
Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling and CNA
SHORT-TERM OUTLOOK: The Chinese military would most likely focus on rebuilding its organization and leadership in the next few years, experts said Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) military purge has reduced the risks of a planned war against Taiwan, yet increased the danger of a conflict sparked by a miscalculation or accident, Taiwanese experts said yesterday. They made the comments at a seminar on the Fifth Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 20th Central Committee held by the research group Secure Taiwan Associate Corp (STA) in Taipei. The wholesale sacking of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officers and managers of the aerospace and defense industry is sure to set back Xi’s timetable to prepare the PLA to launch an invasion of Taiwan
BATTLE-TESTED: Czech companies’ drones, software and navigation systems have been tested in the Ukraine war, while other countries’ are lab-tested, a Czech ex-official said Czech manufacturers are interested in setting up drone assembly lines in Taiwan, former Czech Chamber of Deputies president Marketa Pekarova Adamova told a forum in Taipei yesterday. Adamova made the comments at the inauguration of the Global UAV Academy, an organization dedicated to international cooperation in drone supply chains, technological certification and pilot training. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology said the Czech Republic is the largest importer of Taiwanese drones and uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) components. Adamova, who transitioned to the defense industry after retiring from politics, said the Roman adage “si vis pacem, para bellum” — “If you
STAY VIGILANT: An aircraft carrier and battle group were located to the east of the Philippines, while other ships were identified off the east and southeast coast of Taiwan China has more than 50 naval and other official vessels operating in a wide swath of sea stretching from southern Japan down to Taiwan and off the Philippines, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Wednesday, calling the threat level “obvious.” Taiwan is stepping up efforts to issue details and maps depicting locations where Chinese warships and coast guard vessels operate. “We are staying vigilant about their activities,” Wu said. “The simultaneous threat to Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines is obvious.” The remarks accompanied a map he posted on X showing the locations of 53 ships, 34 of them navy warships,
WORRIES PILE UP: The planned extension would generate nearly 10 million cubic meters of excavated soil, the disposal of which has not been explained, a former EPA official said Yilan County residents, backed by civic groups, on Wednesday filed an administrative lawsuit to overturn the environmental impact assessment (EIA) approval for the Yilan-bound high-speed rail (HSR) extension. They filed the lawsuit after the Executive Yuan on Sept. 11 rejected an administrative appeal. Former Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) deputy minister and lawyer Thomas Chan (詹順貴) said the project’s EIA review was one of the hastiest he had ever seen during his 30-year career in environmental law. Construction of the line would generate nearly 10 million cubic meters of excavated earth and rock, the disposal of which has not yet been explained to the
RSS