The Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) should be revised rather than abolished, civil rights campaigners said yesterday, calling for additional laws to be included in the revision process.
“What we hope is that by changing the thinking behind the law to focus on guaranteeing and protecting rights, we can make the police realize that when they are enforcing the law, they are not ‘dealing with’ an anti-government protest, but rather seeking to guarantee people’s freedom to exercise their rights,” said Kao Yung-cheng (高涌誠), a member of the Judicial Reform Foundation’s advisory and executive boards.
Amendments to the law are currently under review by the Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee, following a ruling by the Council of Grand Justices that found unconstitutional the stipulation that even “emergency” outdoor rallies require official approval.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The committee in its most recent review session decided against abolishing the act, instead changing its title to make it clear that it is intended to guarantee — not restrict — rights to protest.
While welcoming the change in title, Kao also said that the effects of any amendments would be limited unless the scope of reform was expanded to include other restrictive laws.
“While we initially called for the law to be abolished, in recent years it has become clear that police and prosecutors have been using it less and less,” he said, adding that as courts have gradually become more restrictive in issuing convictions based on the law, prosecutors have switched to other legal tools to keep protesters in check.
The rights promoters cited Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) restrictions against “inappropriate” words or actions against public officials conducting their duties, as well as broad Criminal Code provisions against interfering with the execution of public business and showing contempt for authority.
Taiwan Forever Association executive secretary Hung Chung-yen (洪崇晏) said that in some cases, police enforce expansive restricted zones that prevent protesters from being heard by politicians, charging people who cross the line with endangering public safety and interfering with the conduct of official business.
“Is it really the official duty of police officers to ensure that nothing disharmonious is heard at official venues and that there is a circle of peaceful quiet around the president and other government officials? Since when did yelling slogans and waving placards become a threat to public safety?” he said.
“The Assembly and Parade Act is a problem, but it is not the only problem,” Taiwan Association for Human Rights legal affairs director Hsu Jen-shou (許仁碩) said. “If other laws are not revised in conjunction, assembly rights still will not be fully guaranteed.”
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