Protesters who defaced the Ministry of the Interior building on Sunday may have damaged government property and violated the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) said yesterday.
About 20,000 protesters staged a peaceful protest overnight on Sunday outside the ministry compound following a rally against the demolition of houses in Miaoli County’s Dapu Borough (大埔).
The protesters called for changes to laws concerning land expropriation.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Thousands of protest stickers were left on the building’s walls, along with some graffiti, and protesters created a painting on the ground outside the main entrance.
Lee said the ministry has collected all the evidence and would take legal action if scrutiny of the evidence showed that the protesters had damaged government property or violated the Assembly and Parade Act.
While the public has the right to express their views, they should not damage government property or disrupt the regular operation of the government, he said.
If not, the ministry will act according to the law, and “this has nothing to do with politics,” Lee said.
Asked about the police’s handling of recent demonstrations, Lee said the morale of the police force has been low because officers often cannot do anything when they are attacked.
The police should be respected when they are enforcing the law, he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) said that if there was proof the protesters violated the law, the ministry should act according to the law, but protesters should not be blamed for things they did not do.
However, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said the KMT was using the Assembly and Parade Act to repress protesters, despite its calls to abolish the law when it was not in power.
DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said the act was an “evil law,” and charging people with violating an evil law would only force the public into more resistance.
He said the Legislative Yuan has adopted a resolution asking the government to handle the Dapu land expropriation issue based on the conclusions of a negotiation between the Executive Yuan and the residents.
He criticized the government for not acting according to the legislative resolution and for considering legal action against protesters.
In related news, a Jhunan Township (竹南) coffee shop run by one of the protest leaders, Lin Yi-fang (林一方), which often serves as a meeting place for protesters, was attacked yesterday afternoon.
No further information was disclosed by authorities or by Lin as of press time and the identity of the attackers is not known.
Separately, Miaoli student protester leader Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷) said on his Facebook page that he has recently been warned to “be careful when going out” since “a local political leader” in Miaoli has asked local gang members to “teach him a lesson."
Additional reporting by Loa Iok-sin
SECRET OUT: Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung yesterday accidentally revealed that the infections occurred at the ministry’s Taoyuan General Hospital The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported the fifth COVID-19 case in a cluster infection at a Taoyuan hospital, where four other medical workers were confirmed to have been infected over the past week. The latest case is a nurse who had tested negative on Tuesday last week, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, told a news conference. However, on Thursday, she developed symptoms, such as nasal congestion and a cough, and a second test yesterday found that she was infected, Chen said. She is the head nurse of a ward where two
VIGILANCE: While two of the cases are family members of a nurse, there is no sign of community spread and the source of infection is identifiable, the CECC said The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported four new domestic COVID-19 cases associated with a cluster infection at a Taoyuan hospital. Since the first case was identified on Tuesday last week, five healthcare workers — two doctors and three nurses — at the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Taoyuan General Hospital have tested positive for the virus. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that two of the four new cases are the husband and daughter of a nurse (case No. 863) who had earlier been confirmed to have COVID-19. The husband (case No. 864)
PILLARS OF DEMOCRACY: US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft posted online after the virtual meeting that Taiwan should be able to share its successes in global venues President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft yesterday held a virtual meeting, during which Tsai described Taiwan as a “force for good” that deserves a place on the world stage, while Craft reaffirmed Washington’s support for Taiwan’s international participation. The virtual talk was held at about 11am, after Craft’s trip to Taiwan was abruptly canceled. She had been scheduled to meet with Tsai in person at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday morning as part of a three-day visit to Taiwan. On Tuesday, the US Department of State canceled all of its planned trips, citing a need
‘CONTAINED’: The CECC is not considering locking down the hospital where the infections were detected, as their source has been found, Chen Shih-chung said The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported one new domestic COVID-19 case, a doctor at a hospital in northern Taiwan where three other medical workers were confirmed to have the disease over the past week. The new case — No. 856 — is a doctor who had treated a COVID-19 patient together with case No. 838, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center. Case No. 838, confirmed as a locally infected COVID-19 case on Tuesday, was the first case in the hospital cluster, and later infected his partner, who is a nurse at the same
RSS