Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday defended his decision to remove the Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan’s tents outside the Legislative Yuan, saying it was in accordance with the law.
The tents that were erected by the alliance on Taipei’s Jinan Road in 2008 to promote Taiwanese independence were on Friday removed by the Taipei Construction Management Office and police.
In the resultant clash, reticent pro-independence group members were lifted up by police and taken away from the tents that stood for 3,436 days.
Photo: Chien Jung-feng, Taipei Times
Alliance convener Tsay Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴) on Friday said that Ko perhaps felt pressure after Tsay announced his bid for the mayorship, so he decided to tear down his campaign headquarters.
The office had on Friday afternoon issued a statement saying that the public must apply for and gain prior approval for protests and road usage from the Taipei City Police Department and the New Construction Office before applying to the construction office for permission to temporarily erect tents on the road.
As the alliance did not gain approval to use the road or pitch tents, the office deemed them illegal and requested that they leave by Tuesday.
Therefore, the Friday removal was in accordance with the law, the construction office said.
At the opening ceremony of a student competition in Taipei, Ko was asked by reporters whether he decided to remove the tents to please pro-unification groups.
“I don’t need to please anyone,” he said, apparently jokingly.
Ko said he had complained in a public security meeting on Friday morning that police had not yet apprehended the mastermind behind the shootings that occurred in Taipei’s Songshan Cultural and Creative Park (松山文創園區) earlier this year, nor have they arrested protesters who hindered traffic during a labor rights protest in December last year.
“I started scolding them and asked why four officers from Zhongzheng First Precinct are being sued, then suddenly asked how long the tents outside the Legislative Yuan have been there,” he said. “Maybe they removed the tents because they were scolded in the meeting.”
The law would be enforced in response to any illegal behavior, no matter the offenders’ political stance, he said, adding that if he were afraid of provoking pro-unification or pro-independence groups, he would be unable to implement any policies.
“I want to stress again that the nation cannot go on like this, without any order,” Ko said, shaking his head. “The law is for people to obey, not only for reference.”
He also rejected Tsay’s allegation, saying that Tsay announced his intention to run for mayor a day after the city government told the alliance to remove the tents.
He would also order that the Chinese national flags erected by pro-unification groups in Ximending (西門町) be taken down if they did not apply for approval, he added.
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