Conflict could erupt in Tuesday’s legislative plenary session unless a cross-party consensus is reached on a hotly contended amendment to the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
“The proposed draft is a prelude to martial law. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] in the past have said the government must give road rights back to the people. However, this draft will hand road rights over to an authoritarian government,” DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday on the eve of a 12-day trip to the US and Canada.
Tsai was referring to amendments proposed by the Cabinet that would require protest organizers to notify police of a protest’s time, location and parade route five days in advance and that violators could be fined up to NT$50,000. Police would have the right to ban a rally or change its route if they believed it would jeopardize national security, social order or the public interest, the proposed amendment said. The amendment would also give police the right to break up any rally that was blocking traffic.
Tsai yesterday vowed her party would boycott the draft. The freedom to assemble is the people’s “last line of defense” to keep the government in check, she said.
The party also urged the government to stop discouraging public participation in a planned demonstration because of the H1N1 swine flu.
The DPP said it will hold a rally on May 17 in Taipei City for the public to voice discontent toward what the party calls the government’s failure to improve the job market and protect Taiwan’s sovereignty in talks with Beijing.
“Does the KMT really think the party or the public would be stupid enough to hold a large-scale rally if there is a pandemic? Why keep saying we should cancel the event when the virus has not even reached Taiwan?” DPP Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said.
Meanwhile, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday he would not attend the May 17 demonstration.
Chen, who has been held at the Taipei Detention Center in Tucheng (土城), Taipei County, since December as he faces charges of embezzlement, money laundering, taking bribes and forgery, had previously pledged to join the rally if he were released before May 17, but said yesterday that his physical condition would not allow him to participate.
“My legs, arms and my back are still aching ... I won’t be able to join you all on the streets even if I am released before May 17. I apologize to all my supporters,” Chen said in a written statement issued by his office.
Chen urged the DPP to stress the concept of “Taiwan and China, one country on each side” and promote Taiwan sovereignty at the rally.
“The KMT can avoid talking about Taiwanese sovereignty, but the DPP would lose its values if it refuses to touch upon the sovereignty issue,” he said.
Chen also brought up the issue of his DPP membership application, and urged the party not to use “double standards” as it processes his application.
“I am not the only DPP member [to be indicted], but why do I get different treatment?” Chen said.
Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), withdrew from the DPP last August after he admitted that Wu had wired an unspecified amount of money overseas from donations he had received during his election campaigns. He submitted a party membership application last week.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book