Opposition parties, civic groups and academics yesterday condemned President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration — notably Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) — for ordering a bloody crackdown on students occupying the Executive Yuan, as part of a student movement now known as the Sunflower Revolution.
At about 1am yesterday, riot police and Taipei police, equipped with shields, truncheons and water cannons, carried out a five-hour eviction of thousands of protesters — who began occupying the Executive Yuan compound at about 7:30pm on Sunday — resulting in scores being injured.
“The DPP [Democratic Progressive Party] seriously condemns the police violence that took place [yesterday]. The DPP believes that water cannons should not be the sole method the police can rely on [to disperse the crowd]. Other countries use water cannons to disperse extremely rowdy crowds, often under the influence [of alcohol] or during sports events, but yesterday’s crowds were students and young people who have ideological expectations of their leaders, and they represent our nation’s future,” the DPP said in a press release.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), accompanied by former chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), former premiers Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and Yu Shyi-kun, caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) and lawmakers, visited the students at the Executive Yuan at 1:50am, trying to lower tensions and prevent police from using excessive force to no avail.
The Taiwan Solidarity Union described the crackdown as “Taiwan’s Tiananman Massacre that is going to shock the world” in a press release.
Jiang’s order of the crackdown was “bloody and violent” and ironic for the former National Taiwan University law professor, the party said, adding that Jiang should step down because he is no longer fit for the post of premier.
The pro-independence Taiwan Society said in a press release that the use of excessive force represented serious state violence and showed the authoritarian nature of Ma’s government.
The group demanded that Ma and Jiang apologize for the bloody crackdown, renegotiate the cross-strait service trade agreement and immediately release student leader Dennis Wei (魏揚) who was involved in the siege of the Executive Yuan,.
With reports of the crackdown spreading overseas, two leading US lawmakers called for peace in dealing with the protesters.
US House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce and US Senator Sherrod Brown, who is also a founding member of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, urged Ma to ensure a non-violent, peaceful resolution.
“My thoughts are with Taiwanese students and other protesters expressing opposition to a proposed economic pact with China,” Brown said.
“The world is watching these courageous students,” the Ohio Democrat said. “The message to President Ma is that when you try to jam a trade agreement through, people will resist.”
Supporting Brown’s remarks, Royce added: “It is very important that things be handled peacefully.”
While a US Department of State official refused to comment on the situation, a well-informed source within the department told the Taipei Times that developments were being closely monitored in Washington.
Meanwhile, renowned US-based historian Yu Ying-shih (余英時) of Academia Sinica endorsed the student movement in an open letter yesterday highlighting Taiwanese young people’s deep mistrust of China.
Citing his personal connections in Taiwan, Yu said the student movement should not be mistaken as a campaign motivated by any political party because it has been a pure civic movement.
Yu said he saw the protest as a movement to protect and upgrade Taiwan’s democratic system because the public and the government should have an equal voice.
Additionally, Yu warned Taiwan against underestimating China’s strategy of using economic means to achieve its political goals.
When China locks Taiwan in its economic network, the time for unification will be ripe, Yu said.
The historian said democracy would be the best tool to guarantee Taiwan’s security and that was why China has been trying to undermine Taiwan’s democratic system.
Additional reporting by William Lowther
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS