Residents of HoulongTownship (後龍) , Miaoli County, yesterday accused police of physically assaulting them for protesting the construction of funeral facility and cemetery park and accused Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) of illegal colluding with the private developer of the project.
A video recording shown at a press conference organized by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers Wu Yi-chen (吳宜臻) and Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) showed hundreds of Miaoli police officers pushing their way into the crowd to guard the entrance to the site and clashing with the protesters, most of whom were elderly farmers, at about 6am on Wednesday.
Contractors were able to start construction work on the Gods Park, a 24.8 hectare funeral facility and cemetery park described by the Miaoli County Government as its flagship “Build-Own-Operate” (BOO) project, after more than 300 policemen cleared the site, leaving at least one woman injured.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The woman, Du Lin Yin-mei (杜林銀妹) showed her head injury at the press conference and said police officers carrying riot shields and truncheons had said nothing before they started to push and hit demonstrators, who were part of a self-help group.
National Police Administration section chief Chen Chin-ling (陳金陵) said Miaoli police cleared the crowd because the protesters had caused serious traffic concerns by blocking Provincial Highway No. 1, but he said the county police department would review its enforcement procedures.
The Miaoli County Police Department did not send a representatives to the press conference.
Chen Chi-mai said the police department had abused its power by using unnecessary force against peaceful and unarmed demonstrators.
The incident was the latest in a long list of controversial law enforcement cases in Miaoli County, after the county government seized farmland in Dapu Township (大埔) by blocking off roads and sending excavators into farms in June 2010, attracting national attention, Chen said.
“This is a second Dapu incident and once again County Commissioner Liu has made himself the enemy of the people with his ruthlessness,” Chen added.
Wu described the incident as a second “Shilin (士林) incident,” referring to an incident where a local government acted to protect contractors against protesting members of the public.
The Shilin incident grabbed the national spotlight in late March, when police officers were ordered by the Taipei City Government to evict residents from a 135-year-old two-story building in Shilin District belonging to a family surnamed Wang, in order to make way for an urban renewal project.
Longkeng Village (龍坑) head Kuo Kuei-hui (郭貴輝) said neither the government nor the contractor had bothered to consult local people about the God’s Park project, which began in 2007, and that residents are worried about environmental pollution and the park’s proximity to two elementary schools.
Liu used his administrative powers to reduce the minimum legal distance between schools and cemeteries from 300m to 250m, self-help group president Hsu Chin-fu (許金福) said.
“And the change was made after the agreement was signed between Miaoli County Government and the contractors,” Hsu added.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
RSS