Taipei prosecutors indicted former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德) and 15 others yesterday for violating the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法) for unregistered protests during last year's Double Ten National Day.
Shih launched an anti-President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) campaign last August to urge Chen to resign.
On Double Ten National Day, Shih led thousands of red-clad protesters at a rally outside the Taipei Railway Station and claimed to have "besieged" the Presidential Office.
The indictment said the anti-Chen campaign organizers had not applied for a permit from the Taipei City Police Department to hold a parade or rally on Oct. 10 last year, as required by the Assembly and Parade Law.
Prosecutors said the police had put up warning signs and broadcasted requests to the organizers to get their followers to leave, but the protesters refused to move.
Among those indicted with Shih were Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Kuo Su-chun (郭素春), People First Party Legislator Shen Chih-hwei (
Nine others were named in the indictment: Chien Hsi-chieh, Liu Kun-li (劉坤鱧), Chang Fu-chung (張富忠), Jerry Fan (范可欽), Wang Li-ping (王麗萍), Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾), former New Party legislator Cheng Lung-shui (鄭龍水), former Chinese Unity Promotion Party chairman Lin Cheng-chieh (林正杰), Chinese Culture University professor Yao Li-ming (姚立明) and lawyer John Wei (魏千峰).
If found guilty, the defendants could be sentenced to a maximum of two years imprisonment.
In related news, independent Legislator May Chin (高金素梅) was indicted by Taipei prosecutors yesterday for violating the Assembly and Parade Law with a rally she organized on June 25 last year.
Chin led hundreds of people to rally outside the Legislative Yuan to back demands that President Chen resign. She had not obtained a rally permit.
In related news, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Lin Kuo-ching (
During Shih's month-long anti-Chen campaign last year, Lin told a press conference that Shih had left his supporters at an overnight sit-in rally to go to a hotel to sleep.
Wang Shih-cheng was indicted for telling another press conference that Shih's campaign was acting under directives from Chinese authorities and that Shih had sent representatives to China to report to the authorities there on the protests.
Shih sued both legislators for slander last fall. Prosecutors said the pair had failed to supply evidence to prove their allegations.
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