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Taipei City councilors clash over rally site

Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Yen Sheng-kuan grabs hold of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Councilor Wang Cheng-de during a clash over applications for permits to hold rallies on Ketagalan Boulevard prior to the presidential election next month. PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

Pan-blue and pan-green Taipei City councilors clashed in front of Taipei City Hall yesterday over the issuance of permits for holding rallies on Ketagalan Boulevard prior to the presidential election next month.

Several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) councilors accused the Taipei City Government of aiding Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) camp in obtaining permits for Ketagalan Boulevard, a popular site for political rallies and protests, from March 15 to March 21.

Lashing out at the city's New Construction Office for changing the application procedures and only notifying the KMT, DPP Taipei City councilors Yen Sheng-kuan (顏聖冠) and Hung Chiang-yi (洪健益) shouted at several students who were lining up in front of the city hall for permit applications, berating them for working for the KMT.

Yen, Hung and KMT Taipei City Councilor Wang Cheng-de (王正德) then jostled each other as they argued over whether or not the city government should allow applicants to line up for 24 hours to get permits.

KMT Taipei City Councilor Lai Su-ju (賴素如) said the students were volunteers who began lining up in front of city hall on Feb. 13 to get permits, and they were granted the permit by following the regulations.

"The DPP failed to get permits because they are lazy. How can they condemn people who lined up before them and followed the procedures," Lai said.

In response to Yen's request that the city government grant permits by drawing lots, Taipei City Government spokesman Yang Hsiao-tung (羊曉東) said city regulations require applicants to hand in their application forms and supporting documents to the office eight to 30 days prior to the date of the rally, with the city government granting the permits based on the order of application.

Yang said the regulations had been the same since 2006, and the KMT received the permit as it handed in its application before the DPP.

"Councilor Yen successfully applied for a road permit for Ketagalan Boulevard last year by following the same procedure. The DPP should not accuse us of being unfair simply because it didn't get a permit this time," Yang said.

DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) camp yesterday called on the KMT to stop using "dirty tricks" in booking Ketagalan Boulevard for campaign rallies in the run-up to next month's presidential election.

Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠), a Hsieh camp spokesman, said the city government had unfairly changed the application rules by allowing Ma's camp to hire part-time staffers to stand in line for applications.

"Ketagalan Boulevard is a public road. Ma's camp will occupy the venue for a week and it is bound to affect city life and the fairness of the contest," he said. "We hope the KMT will desist from doing so before it is too late."

Hsu Kuo-yong (徐國勇), another Hsieh campaign spokesman, said that some have questioned the identity of the young people standing in line and thought they were young students hired by the KMT to do the job.

Hsu said he was amazed by the KMT's behavior and urged the city government to handle the matter fairly.

Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling
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