The planned police presence at Sunflower movement leader Lin Fei-fan’s (林飛帆) wedding on Sunday sparked controversy yesterday, with the Changhua Police Department saying it will increase the number of officers at the event.
The leaking of a document purporting to detail plans to deploy officers at the event drew reactions late on Wednesday, with many netizens criticizing the allocation of public resources to protect a private event.
Some criticized the leak for disrupting wedding preparations and disclosing the address of the venue.
The number of officers outside the venue needs to be increased now that the wedding site has been made public, Changhua County Police Department Deputy Director-General Chia Li-min (賈立民) said.
Chia said the leaked plan had not been officially approved.
The department is investigating the source of the leak and intends to punish the leaker, he said, adding that Lin had not been informed about the department’s plans.
The department regrets any disruption caused by the exposure of its plans, Chia said.
The wedding is planned to take place at a farm in Changhua City where traffic jams are frequent, while Lin is a public figure, Deputy Minister of the Interior Chiu Chang-yueh (邱昌嶽) said, adding that police had planned security and traffic measures in advance.
“We will communicate with Mr Lin, and ensure security and traffic controls under the premise that his opinion is respected,” Chiu said.
The ministry will ask law enforcement not to disclose any private information, as an officer has already leaked online the wedding site and security arrangements, Chiu said.
Changhua County Commissioner Wei Ming-ku (魏明谷) supported a police presence at the venue, saying he respects the judgement of police intelligence units.
“We do not want any of the related agencies to waste public resources on unnecessary ‘peacekeeping,’” Lin said yesterday.
Lin denied that invitations had been extended to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), but did not confirm whether invitations had been extended to Hong Kong pro-democracy activists.
The possible attendance of Hong Kong activists was claimed to be the reason behind increased police presence, after Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) and several other Hong Kong activists escaped an attack at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport earlier this year.
Late on Wednesday, Lin condemned the disclosure of the wedding site as a violation of privacy.
Additional reporting by Chen Wei-han, Tang Shih-ming
and Liu Hsiao-hsin
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS