Representatives from media worker groups and academics yesterday accused the Taipei City Police Department of using excessive force against reporters in recent protests and trying to evade public scrutiny of what they described as police’s infringement of freedom of the press.
The violent eviction of reporters on March 24, when thousands of protesters occupied the Executive Yuan compound, and on April 28, during an overnight antinuclear sit-in on Zhongxiao W Road, violated the media’s right to report, the representatives told a press conference.
Citing the Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the representatives condemned the police’s actions and called on the police to stop impeding with media freedom and using violence against reporters.
Photo: CNA
The National Police Agency and the Taipei City Police Department refused to send officials to the press conference because such an appearance would represent “tacit recognition” of the complaints, said Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青), who hosted the press conference.
Hsu said that if the police choose to ignore the Constitution and international covenants and refuse to be held accountable, she would not rule out proposing a regulation in the city council to regulate police treatment of reporters.
The media representatives — from the Association of Taiwan Journalists, the Association of Taipei Photojournalists and independent journalists’ trade unions and television companies’ unions — said the accusations of excessive police force were backed by video footage and photographs.
Some of the photographs and several video clips documented police violence and use of water cannons against journalists and photographers were on view at the press conference.
“The past two months was a period that saw the most police interference with news reporting in recent memory,” Public Television System (PTS) Trade Union president Wang Yen-chieh (王燕杰) said.
At least three PTS reporters were evicted or suffered violence on March 24, Wang said, including one woman who was deliberately targeted with a water cannon, despite standing far away from the demonstrators.
Citing the police’s eviction of journalists from the lobby of the Executive Yuan before they began removing protesters from the building, and the physical assault against two photographers on a pedestrian overpass on April 28, Association of Taipei Photojournalists president Chiou Rung-ji (邱榮吉) said the police had ignored the Council of Grand Justices’ constitutional Interpretation No. 689.
The interpretation stipulates that journalists’ freedom of movement, freedom from bodily and mental harm, and freedom from interference in the public domain must be protected.
“Infringement of journalists’ right to report was primarily why Taiwan’s media freedom ranking in the world dropped this year — from 47th to 48th in the Freedom House ranking and from 47th to 50th in the Reporters Without Borders ranking,” Association of Taiwan Journalists president Chen Hsiao-yi (陳曉宜) said.
A country without respect for media freedom cannot call itself a democratic country, National Taiwan University journalism professor Chang Chin-hwa (張錦華) said.
It was a “stupid move” on the part of the police to try to keep their misconduct from being reported by removing journalists and photographers, because the public could record what was happening with their smartphones.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS