Amid the outrage triggered by the military police’s alleged illegal search of civilian property and confiscation of White Terror era documents, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) urged the public not to overreact, saying that the military should not be crucified over the incident.
“In my opinion, the military is the nation’s lifeline. If there has been a mistake, just correct it. There is no need to ‘decimate’ the military. It would not be in the nation’s interests if the military collapsed,” Ko said when asked for his opinion on the issue.
“I guess that nobody would say [the search] was entirely appropriate. [The Ministry of National Defense] should just correct what needs to be corrected. Do not kick up a major fuss. I am strongly against this kind of social atmosphere,” he said.
The remarks quickly triggered an outpouring of criticism among the capital’s residents.
“Does he hear himself when he talks?” Taipei resident Lin Ming-ching (林明慶) said.
“The point is the abuse of power. If it had been ordinary troops, no one would have cared,” Lin said.
Another resident, Dave Huang (黃維廷), said that Ko had “missed the point.”
“This is not just about the military overreaching its purview. This is a serious violation of human rights and military police protocols,” Huang said.
“It is not so much the military who people are concerned about right now, but the detrimental effect the incident has had on society and who authorized the search,” he said.
However, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) sided with Ko, saying that the incident did not necessarily mean the return of the Whiter Terror era.
“The source of controversy is whether the civilian signed an agreement granting the military police the right to conduct the search out of fear or whether the military police forced him to sign it after the search. Either way, it indicates that the military police should be re-educated about investigative procedures,” Liang said.
He said that the practice of coercing people to sign an agreement that they voluntarily let authorities search their property is rampant among the police, the military police and the Bureau of Investigation.
He said that while the practice must be corrected, that does not mean the incident was a recurrence of the White Terror era.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS