A Taichung City policeman was penalized yesterday for using pepper spray on two protesters on Sunday night, but the police said his demerit was for carrying non-standard equipment rather than for assaulting the protesters, adding that he acted in self-defense.
Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) apologized for the incident and promised to look into the matter.
Hu has pledged to step down if any civilians are injured because of police misconduct under his watch.
The Taichung City Police Bureau said police officer Sung Kuo-tong (宋國棟) was part of a detail dispatched to disperse a crowd of pro-independence supporters protesting the fourth round of cross-strait talks after a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rally ended on Sunday night.
The protesters, led by Taiwan Association of University Professors chairman Tsai Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴), reportedly attempted to barge into the fenced-off area around the Winsdor Hotel where the Chinese delegation is staying during its five-day visit.
A physical altercation occurred when police tried to disperse the crowd, a police press release said, adding that fourth precinct deputy chief Lu Chin-lung (盧進隆) was hit in the neck by a protester’s placard during the scuffle.
The statement said that Sung, a self-defense instructor, was trying protect his superior and himself when he used the pepper spray on the protesters.
The two people, one of whom was Tsai’s wife, sustained minor eye injuries and were released from hospital after treatment.
The police agreed that Sung was in the wrong for carrying pepper spray, which is not standard police equipment, but said his actions were in self-defense.
Sung was penalized for carrying non-standard equipment and has been removed from the assignment.
The DPP yesterday offered free legal assistance to the two individuals if they choose to sue over the incident.
DPP Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), who is heading the DPP’s ad-hoc emergency response center, advised all protesters to carry a cellphone or video-recording device at all times to collect evidence on any provocative actions of the part of the police.
“Taiwan is a free democratic country with freedom of speech being the most important value. All people are entitled to speak freely. The police have zero excuse to shortchange the people’s right to express themselves,” Su said.
It took director Chong Keat Aun (張吉安) nearly a decade to complete Snow in Midsummer (五月雪), a deft chronicle of Malaysia’s May 13 incident told through one woman’s search for her brother and father. Although only his second feature, it led the field at yesterday’s Golden Horse Awards with nine nominations. Chong said it had been a struggle to get people to share their memories of the intercommunal violence following the 1969 national election, known among the country’s ethnic Chinese community as “513.” “My father, for example, would shut the conversation down if my mother or grandma even mentioned the topic,” Chong said
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted
A New Taipei City hotpot restaurant could be fined after a rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on a customer’s plate last week, the New Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday after conducting an inspection. A woman recently posted on the “I am a Banciao resident” (我是板橋人) social media group saying that she had been eating with a friend at Chien Tu Shabu Shabu Hotpot Restaurant’s Shuangshi B branch in Banciao District (板橋). “While still eating, a big rat suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on a plate next to a hotpot,” she said. “Later on, a member of
RSS