The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) announced yesterday that it will implement logistical and security measures ahead of today's anti-President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) sit-in at the Taipei Railway Station.
Anti-Chen protesters are scheduled to participate in a "siege" of the Presidential Office and Chen's official Yushan Residence, and then occupy the station's southern square tonight, according to organizers of the campaign led by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (
TRA Deputy Director Chen Feng-nan (
The TRA's objective was to maintain order and hygiene, while not allowing the event to interfere with railway and Mass Rail Transit (MRT) operations, he said.
"Portable toilets will be shipped to the square to prevent protesters from crowding the bathrooms within the station," he said, adding that the toilets would be cleaned hourly, and that a small army of custodians would keep the station and its environs clean.
He called on protesters not to litter or protest within the station.
Railway Police Bureau Deputy Director Li Chen-kuang (
Chen said a 24-hour "command center" and "logistics task force" would be set up to implement contingency plans in the event of violence or overcrowding.
"The worst-case scenario would be an outbreak of violence that obstructs the flow of passenger traffic in and out of the station," Chen said.
If that happens, Taipei-bound trains would be re-routed to Banciao or Wanhua District, and the command center would make public announcements on where train passengers should go to depart or embark, he said.
Meanwhile, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) emphasized that the government's bottom line is to protect the legal rights of all protesters, whether they are pro-government or anti-government.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
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