Two members of a pro--independence group are set to appear in court after they were indicted by prosecutors on Thursday for allegedly pushing and shoving police officers during a protest against Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) in Taichung City in November last year.
Their actions were part of a larger demonstration, including a sit-in by about 500 Falun Gong practitioners, which saw confrontations with hundreds of police in riot gear and brought parts of the city to a standstill.
In a statement, prosecutors said 64-year-old Liu Ching-cheng (劉慶澄) and 56-year-old Chou Ming-wen (周明文) were driven by four friends to an area near the Windsor Hotel where Chen was staying in a self-styled “Democracy Tank” — a small painted truck.
During the incident, which took place on Nov. 23, the two were seen firing small firecrackers at the five-star hotel, before two police officers confronted them over their actions. Prosecutors alleged Chou then grabbed one police officer’s neck while Liu pushed another off their vehicle.
Chen Chu-hsiang (陳諸想), the officer who was pushed off the truck, suffered multiple injuries in the fall and apparently suffered impaired vision in his right eye, which he has not fully regained since the incident despite treatment. Prosecutors alleged the actions were more than enough evidence to try Liu and Chou for interfering with official duties and aggravated assault.
Commenting on the indictment, the two defendants said they would not accept the accusations. Chou said that he was the victim of police brutality, so he would plead not guilty and launch a “strenuous protest” against the prosecutors in Taichung.
In communist China, dissidents can receive the Nobel Peace Prize, he said.
“But for protesting against Chen Yunlin’s visit in democratic Taiwan” he was the victim of police brutality, he said.
Liu also insisted that it was the police that first broke the law. The Constitution and other laws protect the public’s right to assembly and police have to give three public warnings before they can clamp down on protestors, he said.
“At the time, the police did not raise the warning sign but came directly at us,” Liu added.
It was a purposeful and provocative move and now the police are pinning the blame on him, he said.
“If they weren’t provocative, this incident wouldn’t have happened,” he said.
Chen Chu-hsiang, the police officer at the center of the controversy, has since returned to work. He said on Thursday that the injuries still cause him problems on a daily basis. He frequently loses his balance, can barely see out of one eye and can no longer drive or ride a scooter, he said.
Chen Chu-hsiang said that while he had forgiven the protestors, he was less forgiving of the politicians who originally stood up in his support. Many had made big promises about how they would get him justice over the incident, but have since disappeared, he said.
Now he is waiting to receive a copy of the indictment before deciding on his next move, he said.
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