Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday visited members of the Wild Strawberry Student Movement staging a protest at Liberty Square and promised to help them in their campaign to have the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法) amended.
Lee urged Taiwan Solidarity Union Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝), who accompanied him, to back the students as well and offered words of encouragement ahead of a rally scheduled for this afternoon. Lee said he hoped the students would not get sick from sitting outside in the cold weather.
The Wild Strawberries have run a weeks-long campaign calling for legislators to scrap regulations in the assembly law that require organizers of protests to seek a permit from police for any events. The protesters also demand that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) apologize and that National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) and National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Chao-ming (蔡朝明) resign from their posts over what the students have called police brutality against protesters during a visit by a Chinese delegation last month.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Lee yesterday said he understood the students’ dissatisfaction with the law and agreed the regulations should be changed.
He said democracy and freedom were the nation’s most prized possessions and that the true meaning of democracy was that sovereignty rests with the public. The government should not require police permits to demonstrate, Lee said, and police should only intervene if a demonstration turns violent.
Asked about Ma’s comment earlier this week that a visit by the Dalai Lama would not be appropriate, Lee said there was no acceptable reason for the government’s opposition to a visit.
The public is under economic stress, forcing it to focus on money matters, Lee said.
“What is needed in this situation is religious comfort and there should be no talk of this not being an appropriate time [for a visit by the Dalai Lama],” he said.
In related news, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said yesterday he would leave for the US today on behalf of the National Security Council (NSC) to address Washington’s concerns about eroding judicial impartiality.
Hsieh said the NSC felt it was necessary to explain the matter to friends in the US as they, including Ma’s mentor during his studies at Harvard University, professor Jerome Cohen, had gotten the wrong impression about the situation in Taiwan after a visit by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮).
Chai visited the US last month and expressed concern that the government was influencing prosecutors in cases against DPP figures.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS