The Control Yuan decided not to impeach any officials yesterday after concluding its investigation into law enforcement measures during the visit of Chinese negotiator Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) in November.
Control Yuan member Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄), in charge of the investigation, said he initially suggested impeaching Taipei City Police Commissioner Hung Sheng-kun and former Songshan Precinct police chief Huang Chia-lu (黃嘉祿).
But the impeachment motion was rejected at Control Yuan committee meetings on May 5 and May 12.
“I was disappointed that the impeachment motion was voted down twice. The case was closed today. It’s a pity,” Huang told a press conference.
“It’s May 20 today, the first anniversary of [President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) government]. We didn’t purposely choose this time to [approve the corrective measures] but it should serve as a warning to the administration,” Huang said.
The corrective measures were targeted at the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the National Policy Agency (NPA) and Taipei City Police Department.
Huang and his colleague Lin Chu-liang (林鉅鋃) launched an investigation after receiving complaints from 218 academics, former grand justices and activists, as well as 25 civil groups, about alleged police misconduct.
Incidents like a record store that was playing a pro-Taiwan song being forced to shut its doors, and the removal of people wearing T-shirts calling Taiwan a sovereign country, holding national flags or shouting pro-independence slogans sparked concerns over suppression of the freedom of speech by police.
Control Yuan figures showed that more than 183 protesters and police officers were injured in clashes during several demonstrations against Chen, who was in Taiwan for a second round of cross-strait talks with Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤).
In accordance with Article 25 of the Control Act (監察法), the MAC, NPA and Taipei City Police Department are required to reply within two months to the Control Yuan in writing on how to improve the problems addressed.
The Control Yuan charged the MAC with failing to effectively communicate to the public the positive implications of Chen’s visit, while the NPA was charged with failing to ensure its police officers showed discipline and a good attitude while enforcing the law.
The Taipei City Police Department was charged after its Songshan Precinct struggled to maintain order during a protest outside the Grand Formosa Regent Hotel which prevented Chen from leaving until 2:10am after he attended a dinner banquet there.
Huang Huang-hsiung said the Presidential Office set up an ad hoc task force led by National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起) to coordinate agencies in handling business concerning Chen’s stay in the country.
Huang Huang-hsiung said the Control Yuan found Su had not overstepped his authority to lead the task force despite the fact that the NSC is supposed to be a consultant agency to the president.
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