The concern over public order during the planned anti-President Chen Shui-bian (
The anti-Chen sit-in organized by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (
While the city's police department has revoked its initial permission for Shih camp's to stage a round-the-clock sit-in, organizers have said the demonstration will continue even after the traditional protest deadline of 10pm.
PHOTO: AP
The DPP's Taipei City Council caucus has demanded the city government explain its strategy for keeping order during the protest.
In response, the police department said yesterday that it would follow the Assembly and Parade Law (
"We will ask the protesters to leave. If they refuse to leave, then we will give warnings and disperse the crowd according to the procedures laid out in the law," Deputy Police Chief Wang Yung-hui (
Taipei's Law and Regulation Commissioner Chen Ching-hsiu (陳清秀), however, said dispersing the crowd would be unnecessary if protesters were simply "resting at the rally site" and their presence did not affect traffic or public safety.
"The police could also use persuasion to stop the crowd from making noise. They don't have to give warnings or disperse the protesters," Chen said.
Challenged by DPP councilors Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) and Lu Ying-ying (呂瀅瀅) to explain the city government's contradictory positions, Wang repeated that the police would follow the law and had not excluded the possibility of using force to disperse the protesters.
Chen Ching-hsiu later said the Law and Regulation Committee was just offering advice from a legal perspective and the right to exercise the law belonged to the police department.
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Meanwhile, the city's Department of Cultural Affairs said it had warned Shih's camp over plans to decorate the Jing Fu Men (
The department said it was dispatching staffers to monitor the site on a 24-hour basis to prevent the old gate from being damaged.
"We will not allow them to hang or put anything directly on the building. The camp will need to file an application if they plan to set up anything around the monument," department division chief Wang Yi-chuan (
The Shih camp announced on Wednesday that it would wrap the gate with 20m-high red cloth and make it the "spiritual fortress" of its demonstration.
Wang Yi-chuan said that plan would affect the appearance of the monument and so violate the act.
If the organizer plans to set up any campaign signs or decorations around the monument, it is required to erect a protection area around the gate to prevent protesters from invading or damaging the building.
They must present their plan to the department, and could face a fine of between NT$200,000 (US$6,077) and NT$1 million if they fail to protect the gate.
Because Ketagalan Boulevard is a major junction used by 46 bus lines, and is close to six schools and a major hospital, Hsu urged education, transport and environmental protection authorities to protect the quality of lives of students and patients.
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