The Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) passed its initial review at the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee yesterday, despite lawmakers and government officials’ failure to reach consensus on several clauses.
The act was first adopted in 1988 after martial law was lifted in 1987, its intended goal being to avoid social upheaval in the post-Martial Law era, while also protecting the public’s right to hold rallies.
The act has long been criticized by activists as legislation that restricts freedom of expression rather than protecting it. It requires organizers of demonstrations to apply for an assembly and parade permit before a demonstration takes place, grants the police the power to disband a demonstration if they find it necessary and forbids any demonstrations in certain areas surrounding government buildings and foreign diplomatic missions.
Activists have called for a change from a pre-approval system to a pre-notice system, the abolition of the police’s power to disband demonstrations and a cut-down version or the complete abolition of the restricted areas.
Although both Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, as well as the Cabinet, support the pre-notice system, they argued on whether it should be mandatory or voluntary.
The Cabinet version of the amendment insists that organizers be required to notify police of a upcoming demonstration, while DPP lawmakers, including Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) and Chen Chieh-ju (陳節如), argued for a voluntary system.
KMT Legislator Pan Wei-kang said she was against any change to the system at the moment.
“I’m not opposed to a pre-notice system, but I don’t think democracy is mature enough in Taiwan to put that system into practice yet,” she told the committee. “Violence could break out at demonstrations even when a pre-approval system is in place. I’m worried that we’d be paying too high a social price if we put a pre-notice system in place right now.”
The second dispute came when lawmakers discussed whether there should be a “safe distance” around government buildings and foreign diplomatic missions.
“Who will decide what the ‘safe distance’ is? If the police are to do so, they would have too much power,” Chen said.
KMT Legislator Tsao Erh-chung (曹爾忠) argued that “demonstration zones” should be designated around important government buildings, rather than making them off limits.
However, National Police Agency Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) said it would be very difficult for police to safeguard government offices if there was no ‘safe distance’ clause.
Legislators also held differing views on whether police should continue to have the power to disband a demonstration.
The amendment passed the initial review after seven hours of debate.
“We will leave the disagreements to be resolved at cross-party negotiations later,” KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.