A group of citizen journalists yesterday demanded that the legislature uphold the Constitution by recognizing citizen journalism and allowing the public to attend legislative sessions after their attempt to cover legislative affairs was rejected.
As the nation’s top legislative body, the legislature should not violate the Constitution by barring citizen journalists and legislation session visits, several citizen journalists and dozens of representatives from civic groups said during their protest in front of the legislature in Taipei which coincided with Constitution Day.
“Taiwanese should not be stripped of their constitutionally protected right to political participation,” Citizen Congress Watch chairman Shih Shin-min (施信民) said before the protesters tried to enter the legislature and apply for temporary media passes.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
After being blocked by security at the gate of the legislative building for about 10 minutes, six representatives — including citizen journalist and documentary filmmaker Kevin Lee (李惠仁) — were allowed to enter, but their media pass applications were immediately rejected.
Lee Chien-hsin (李健行), director of the legislature’s Public Relations Office, said the requirements for obtaining media passes are clearly stated in the legislature’s regulations.
“If you [citizen journalists] have a problem with that, you should demand a Constitutional interpretation,” he said.
Citing Article 11 of the Constitution, which guarantees the rights to freedom of speech, teaching, writing and publication, and the Justices of the Constitutional Court’s Interpretation No. 689 as the basis of their appeal, Kevin Lee briefly argued with the PR office director, who subsequently left the scene without further explanation.
Currently, only reporters from media outlets which are registered companies are eligible for permanent media passes to cover legislative affairs.
“The legislative regulations are in violation of the Constitution,” said Kevin Lee, who is known for exposing the government’s cover-up of an avian flu outbreak earlier this year.
The protesters said the legislature’s refusal to recognize citizen journalism constitutes not only an erosion of constitutional rights, but also jeopardizes freedom of the press, which is already in a dire state amid growing Chinese influence in the media, as well as increasingly powerful media bias and corporate interests.
It is also important that the legislature allow professionals and private citizens to attend public hearings and legislative sessions, said Huang Shu-ying (黃淑英), a former Democratic Progressive Party legislator who now serves as president of civic group Taiwan Women’s Link.
In related news, the Association of Taiwan Journalists yesterday condemned the government’s infringing on press freedom and violation of the Constitution in its actions concerning the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮), and the Miramar Resort Village in Taitung County’s Shanyuan Bay (杉原灣).
The Atomic Energy Council on Friday barred a reporter from covering meetings and activities related to the power plant, while the Taitung County Government barred reporters from an environmental assessment meeting for the controversial resort development.
“The Association of Taiwan Journalists condemns the practices by the central and local governments to systematically oppress the media freedom and strip reporters’ rights to gather information, which is a serious trampling of press liberties and a violation of the Constitution,” the association said in a press release.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
RSS