Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-sponsored reforms to the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) ignore the act’s core flaws, civil activists said yesterday, blasting draft legislation that upholds police rights to forcefully disperse demonstrators, while failing to eliminate “forbidden zones” near government buildings.
More than 20 demonstrators from the Huaguang Community Canvassing Working Group (華光社區訪調小組), the National Alliance for Workers of Closed Factories, Taiwan Association for Human Rights and other groups protested outside DPP headquarters before marching to the Taiwan High Court building for a hearing on a government suit against Huaguang activists, who face possible prison terms for “interfering with official duties” during efforts to prevent the community’s demolition.
Huaguang demonstrators who led the march wore chains to symbolize unfair legal restrictions on protest rights, with other people periodically playing horns, trombones and trumpets.
The use of trumpets was a play on the pronunciation of the word “trumpet,” an offensive Hoklo phrase lanpa (卵葩, testicles), to criticize “bombastic” DPP promises.
“The DPP has always claimed that they would continually push for human rights, but we do not see any real sincerity in their revision of the Assembly and Parade Act,” Huaguang Community Canvassing Working Group member Ho Yu-lun (何友倫) said.
The Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee last week passed draft amendments to the act, removing application requirements, fines and prison sentences, and imposing new duties on police to protect demonstrators.
However, the amendments continue to allow police to forcefully disperse demonstrators and only shrink – rather than eliminate – “restricted” zones that police can impose near government buildings, violating two key demands of civil activists.
Ho said that the wording of the amendments would make police dispersion even more difficult to check by requiring only that police negotiate with demonstrators before dispersing them, differing from previous wording, which stated that police officers must issue three clear warnings before dispersal.
“Because there is no way to determine whether police have already ‘negotiated,’ they would be able to directly disperse demonstrators,” he said.
Huaguang Community Canvassing Working Group member Cheng Chung-hao (鄭仲皓) said preserving restricted zones unfairly limits demonstrators’ freedom of speech by preventing government officials from being forced to hear their demands.
“Police should not be allowed to set up a ‘defense’ against our protest rights,” he said, adding that rules should instead allow police to force protestors to withdraw to a “safe distance” only if special circumstances arise.
“Shrinking the size of restricted zones is a word game because it will not change any real conditions,” labor activist Kuo Kuan-chun (郭冠均) said, adding that police already choose not to establish maximum “restricted zones” near most ministries and government buildings.
Demonstrators also called for the DPP to not ignore revisions to other laws.
INTERNATIONAL WEED DAY: Advocates are to hold a demonstration to push for the decriminalization of marijuana and allowing its use for treatment of certain conditions It is time for Taiwanese society to examine the medical benefits of cannabis, in line with the international trend to lift restrictions on and decriminalize the use of marijuana, two legislators said yesterday, ahead of tomorrow’s “Rally for Equal Rights for Cannabis” in Taipei. Taiwan is one of a few countries holding a “420 International Weed Day” event — which usually takes place around the April 20 weekend — as most nations have canceled it this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said organizer Green Sensation, which is composed of doctors, lawyers and entertainers, among others. The group released a
DIALOGUE SOUGHT: Washington said it was concerned about the pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate Taiwan after the 10th day of PLA activity in the region The US on Monday urged Beijing to stop its multifaceted pressure campaign against Taiwan after China sent 25 military jets into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. “The United States notes with concern the pattern of ongoing PRC [People’s Republic of China] attempts to intimidate the region, including Taiwan,” a US Department of State spokesperson said in an e-mail response to questions. “We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan, and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan.” The Ministry of National Defense said that 25 Chinese military aircraft entered the zone on Monday. It was the 10th straight
‘NOT ENTHUSIASTIC’: People who have been approved by the CECC as special cases who need to travel, such as foreign diplomats, would be able to receive a vaccine The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday expanded the eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination to the fourth priority group — people who need to travel abroad for special reasons — adding that out-of-pocket vaccines would be available from Wednesday next week. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said although Taiwan’s COVID-19 vaccination program was on Monday expanded to include the top three groups in the priority list, people are still “not enthusiastic” about getting vaccinated. “Only 1,220 people received a vaccine shot on Tuesday, and a total of 27,113 people have received COVID-19 vaccination” so far, he
CAUTION: People should drink at least 1.5 liters of water per day, while men can eat pumpkin seeds to protect the prostate, a doctor in Taipei said Holding urine for long periods could lead to an atonic bladder, or could cause inflammation of the urinary tract, hematuria or renal retention, a urologist said. Chang Fu-chung (張甫仲), a doctor at Taipei Hospital’s Department of Urology, on Friday last week said that the hospital admitted a 38-year-old woman who complained of a sharp, stinging pain when urinating. Chang said he diagnosed her with urethritis, based on her symptoms and darker-colored urine. The top three groups of people who usually hold off going to the restroom are women, middle-aged and older people with prostatic hyperplasia, and those who fail to drink enough water
RSS