A coalition of groups opposed to forced evictions yesterday rallied outside the Control Yuan to call for an investigation into two demonstrations at which protesters were allegedly beaten up and confined to designated areas by police.
At demonstrations on Thursday and Friday by residents of New Taipei City’s Daguan (大觀) community, police abused their power by taking unnecessarily violent measures and restricting protesters’ freedom, Taiwan Association for Human Rights policy director Shih Yi-hsiang (施逸翔) said.
During Thursday’s demonstration outside the National Housing and Regeneration Center in Taipei, where President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) attended a ceremony, protesters were violently dragged 200m to an area bordered by barricades and police officers after being told once to disperse, the protesters’ letter to the Control Yuan said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
They were forced to stay in the barricaded area, which the police described as a “protest zone,” and prevented from going to the restroom for two hours, the letter said.
Several who tried to leave were slapped in the face, pushed to the ground or kicked in the stomach by police guarding the area, it said.
The police also prevented them from drinking water, said Lin Yen-yu (林燕玉), a Daguan resident who took part in the protest.
“We would not be protesting on the street if we did not need to. We are only doing it because the government is evicting us from our homes,” she said. “The government is making life so difficult for us.”
Daguan residents are facing forced eviction after losing an extended legal battle with the Veterans Affairs Council over land rights in 2014.
During Saturday’s protest, held outside New Taipei City’s Jiangcui Elementary School two hours before a Democratic Progressive Party campaign event featuring Tsai was to begin, protesters were dragged away, put in police cars and prevented from leaving, the letter said.
Emily Chen, 10, said that police ignored requests to let her go to a restroom and to turn down the car’s air conditioner, despite her being wet from the rain and feeling cold.
According to Article 3 of the Police Power Exercise Act (警察職權行使法), police should exercise their power only to the extent necessary, the association’s legal specialist Wang Si (王曦) said.
By restricting protesters’ freedom without a proper reason, the police violated the act, as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Wang said.
To prevent police from abusing their powers and to better protect the public’s right to demonstrate and rally, the Control Yuan should investigate the two cases, Shih said.
“If no individual officers are identified, then their supervisor should be held responsible, whether they are head of a police department or the National Police Agency — or the minister of the interior,” Shih added.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
RSS