Several university student groups in the central and southern parts of the country launched sit-ins yesterday in support of the student demonstrators at Liberty Square in front of National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall.
Holding up posters that read “human rights,” about 20 students launched their sit-in campaign in front of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Tainan amid drizzling rain.
“We support the three statements of [the students] in Taipei. President Ma [Ying-jeou (馬英九)] and [Premier] Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) should apologize to the people while [National Police Agency (NPA)] Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) and [National Security Bureau] Director-General Tsai Chao-ming (蔡朝明) should step down,” Huang You-heng (黃羑衡), the spokesman for the protesters at NCKU, told reporters.
PHOTO: CHAN CHAO-YANG, TAIPEI TIMES
“We hope similar campaigns will be launched at every university in Taiwan,” Huang said.
Meanwhile, a group of students began another sit-in at the Peoples’ Square in Taichung City yesterday afternoon in support of their counterparts in Taipei.
TAIPEI
PHOTO: CNA
About 400 students, led by National Taiwan University sociology professor Lee Ming-tsung (李明璁) began their silent sit-in on Thursday in front of the Executive Yuan in Taipei.
The protesters have argued that police used excessive force against demonstrators opposing the visit of China’s Association for the Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) between Monday and Friday last week.
The students urged the government to amend the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法) by removing the article that obliges rally organizers to gain police approval before launching an event.
The students were evicted from the Executive Yuan by the police on Friday night because they had not filed an application for their sit-in in accordance with the Assembly and Parade Law.
They reassembled at Liberty Square later that night.
RAIN OR SHINE
The sit-in at the square has continued, despite poor weather.
“Many people think we are staging the protest against a specific political camp. Therefore, we would like to emphasize our call for an amendment to the Assembly and Parade Law,” said Chou Fu-yi (周馥儀), a representative of Taipei students.
Chou said no government officials — except director of Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall Tseng Kun-ti (曾坤地) — had checked on them since they reconvened at the hall.
Ho Tung-hung (何東洪), an associate professor of psychology at Fu Jen Catholic University and a participant in the Wild Lily Student Movement (野百合學運) in the 1990s, visited the students in Taipei to share his experiences yesterday, encouraging them to cherish their opportunity to participate in the sit-in.
Wu Eing-ming (吳英明), president of Kaohsiung Open University, also visited the students on behalf of Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊).
Wu lauded the students’ action, saying that their campaign showed the nation should spend next year “relearning the value of human rights.”
In related developments, heated exchanges between government officials and legislators were expected to take place in the legislature today as the Internal Administration Committee has convened a special report by Wang regarding the NPA’s behavior last week.
For his part, Minister of Health Yeh Chin-chuan (葉金川) is scheduled to report today on the food safety agreement signed by Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Ping-kun (江丙坤) and Chen Yunlin last week to the legislature’s Health, Environment and Labor Committee.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it