The organizers of last year's so-called anti-corruption campaign aimed at deposing President Chen Shui-bian (
"It should be the proudest moment of your life to be indicted by such a ridiculous government," campaign spokesman Jerry Fan (
Fan and other campaign organizers accused the Taipei Prosecutors' Office of victimizing campaign leader Shih Ming-teh (施明德) and another 15 organizers while ignoring that a large number of people had participated in the rally.
The 16 campaign members were last Friday charged with violating the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法) by initiating an unregistered protest during last year's National Day celebrations.
Shih said at the time that he was leading protesters to "besiege" the Presidential Office and urge Chen to step down.
Fan said the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government was supporting a law it had previously tried to scrap.
"Four DPP chairmen have been sentenced for violating the law. The DPP tried to scrap the law when it was the opposition party, but now it has used the law to attack our campaign," he said.
Displaying a gold-colored medal decorated with a hand print, Fan and campaign news director Chang Fu-chung (
"The hand print represents the participants' promise to fight against the corrupt government and make a sacrifice for social justice," Chang said.
Protesters including TV show host Sisy Chen (
When asked about the campaign's next move, Fan said that they were considering organizing another protest in which people would release millions of red balloons into the sky on National Day, although no final plans have been made.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai