Taiwan Rural Front chairman Hsu Shih-jung (徐世榮) yesterday filed a lawsuit against the National Security Bureau (NSB) and the Datong District police for illegal arrests and the falsification of evidence during a July 23 protest in Taipei against forced evictions and demolitions in Miaoli County’s Dapu Brough (大埔) last month.
Hsu, a professor of land economics at National Chengchi University, was dragged away by police officers during a protest against President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) in front of the Ministry of Health and Welfare before being taken to a police station.
Police said they had arrested him for offenses against public safety and for obstructing official business, though he was released later in the evening due to “lack of evidence.”
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
In the days following the protest, Central Police University associate professor Yeh Yu-lan (葉毓蘭) said that Hsu had attempted to ram Ma’s motorcade and that he had asked that officers take him to a police station, claims that Hsu has categorically denied.
Hsu maintains that the protest was peaceful and that all he did was to shout slogans at Ma’s motorcade as it approached the ministry building.
Witnesses at the scene, including this correspondent, who was standing next to Hsu as he was taken away by police officers, support his version of events.
Video footage of the incident made available on the Internet also shows a plainclothes officer identifying and singling out Hsu, before ordering police officers to take him away.
Hsu, along with Hung Chung-yen (洪崇晏), a philosophy student at National Taiwan University who sustained injuries to his head during clashes with police, pressed charges against NSB Director Tsai Der-sheng (蔡得勝), Datong police investigation brigade officer Lai Jun-yao (賴俊堯) and Datong Branch station director Ou Yang-jun (歐陽俊) for illegal and arbitrary arrest, fabrication of charges, injury and defamation, among others.
At a press conference outside the Taipei District Court yesterday morning, Hsu said the abuses of power by the bureau and the police, including illegal arrests and cooked-up charges, had crossed a constitutionally drawn “red line” guaranteeing freedom of expression and the right of assembly.
Hundreds of lawyers have signed a petition supporting Hsu in the case and several have offered their services pro bono to assist him with the case.
In related developments, student groups that have joined a series of protests targeting officials in the Ma Cabinet were shocked on Thursday night when a police officer showed up armed with an assault rifle during a candlelit vigil near the home of Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻).
Liu, who has faced severe criticism for his handling of the Dapu demolitions, told a forum last week that while it is the responsibility of public officials to be benevolent, they must also have the ability to adopt strongman tactics when acting in the public interest.
Asked for the reasons why a police officer was carrying an assault rifle at a peaceful protest by students, the Miaoli County police department said the decision had been made after “a careful assessment of the situation.”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
RSS