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Taipei police okay protests

The Taipei City Police Department gave a group of anti-corruption campaign advocates permission to hold rallies on Ketagalan Boulevard from next Sunday through Sept. 11 and in a public square at Taipei Main Station on Sept. 15, a department spokesman said yesterday.

The area around the Presidential Office, which houses many key government institutions, will be closed for public activities from Sept. 12 to Oct. 12, while preparations are being made for National Day on Oct. 10, said Huang Ching-fu (黃清福), chief of the department's social order maintenance division.

The permission for the anti-corruption campaign, which launched a nationwide protest campaign in September last year to depose President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), drew criticism from Taipei City Councilor Hung Chien-yi (洪健益) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who denounced the police for "disregarding citizens' rights," as the same group crippled downtown traffic with their massive parades and rallies last year.

Huang said there was no reason for the police department to prohibit public rallies as people already have the constitutional right to organize public assemblies.

The anti-corruption campaign was initiated by former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德), who launched sit-in on Sept. 9 last year to press Chen to step down over corruption and embezzlement allegations implicating his wife, son-in-law and senior aides.

Last month, prosecutors indicted Shih and 15 others for violating the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法) for unregistered protests during last year's National Day.

The indictment said anti-Chen campaign organizers had failed to apply for a permit from Taipei City Police to hold a parade or rally on Oct. 10 last year.
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