Shih Ming-teh (
Before appearing in the Taipei District Court yesterday afternoon, Shih told reporters that he would serve jail time immediately if the court were to convict him of violating the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法).
However, he said that the 15 campaign organizers, who were also indicted for violating the law, would continue to push for the abolition of the "unconstitutional" and "flawed" law.
PHOTO: CNA
Taipei prosecutors indicted Shih and 15 campaign organizers on Aug. 3 for staging a rally outside Taipei Railway Station and "laying siege" to the Presidential Office on Oct. 10 last year without first applying for a permit from the Taipei City Police Department.
Prosecutors said the police had put up warning signs and broadcasted requests for the protesters to leave, but they refused to move.
Among those indicted with Shih were Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Kuo Su-chun (郭素春), People First Party Legislator Shen Chih-hwei (沈智慧), former KMT legislator and Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs Director Lee Yong-ping (李永萍), Taipei City Research & Development Evaluation Commissioner Emile Sheng (盛治仁) and New Party Taipei City Councilor Lee Hsin (李新).
Nine others were named in the indictment: Chien Hsi-chieh, Liu Kun-li (
Shih also lashed out at the DPP yesterday, saying the party "might have forgotten that the party also opposed the law in the past."
"Taiwanese have suffered under Martial law and the Assembly and Parade Law during our pursuit of democracy and freedom," Shih said, criticizing the DPP for exploiting the law to bring him to trial.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS