A Taipei District Court prosecutor recently applied for a “summary judgment” on the indictment of National Taiwan University sociology professor Lee Ming-tsung (李明璁), declaring that he was a “prime suspect” in an “illegal outdoor assembly” — a sit-in protest against the visit of Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) — in front of the Executive Yuan last November.
This was yet another example of juridical abuse of power that did not take into consideration the freedom of assembly, which is protected by the Constitution, international human rights law and the principle of proportionality in Article 26 of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法).
By staging a peaceful sit-in in front of the Executive Yuan, Lee and his students were exercising their basic rights of assembly and freedom of speech, which are also protected by the Constitution, international human rights law and especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that was signed by the government into law on May 14.
NOT A THREAT
Lee’s peaceful sit-in was not an immediate threat to anyone’s freedom, safety or possessions, nor was it a clear and present danger to the national security or social order.
The plaza in front of the Executive Yuan is the best place for ordinary people to express their opinions to the government.
So why are applications needed for peaceful sit-ins there? Can protesters be labeled as criminals simply because they did not file an application?
Several years ago, a group of National Chengchi University students staged a protest against high tuition fees in front of the Ministry of Education.
Legal circles were surprised when one of the students was indicted as a “prime suspect.”
At that time, the Taipei District Court commendably insisted on the protection of the student’s freedom of assembly.
PROPORTIONALITY
It cited the principle of proportionality in Article 26 of the Assembly and Parade Act, believing that even if the protest was an illegal outdoor assembly, the police still needed to take into account the balance between the public’s basic right of assembly and other laws and regulations when ordering them to disperse.
The student was found not guilty.
Unfortunately, the prosecutor insisted on appealing the case, and the Taiwan High Court failed to protect freedom of assembly by overturning the ruling of the District Court.
Instead, the court gave the student a choice between detention and a fine on probation.
Perhaps the court believed that it was doing the student a favor by handing down such a light penalty, just like the prosecutor’s application for “summary judgment” on the indictment of Lee.
SERIOUS BLOW
However, the judges were and are possibly still unaware that by doing so they have dealt a serious blow to the basic right of staging peaceful sit-ins in Taiwan.
Reform of the Assembly and Parade Act is inevitable. We should not only abolish the “permission system” in the Act but completely decriminalize such assemblies to protect the public’s basic right to peaceful sit-ins.
I would like to urge the judiciary to act bravely and be the last line of defense for the public’s right to peaceful sit-ins and freedom of speech.
Chang Wen-chen is an associate law professor at National Taiwan University.
TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would