A movement calling for harsher penalties for child molesters and an associated rally on Saturday has received cross-party support.
Politicians in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung cities have endorsed the White Rose Movement, which calls on the legislature to revise laws to better protect children from sexual predators and to eliminate judges that they consider too soft.
Initiated by local organizations and an Internet campaign, the White Rose Movement emerged out of public fury stirred by a string of acquittals and light sentences given to people convicted of sexually assaulting children.
‘EXCEEDING POLITICS’
Having collected upwards of 100,000 petition forms, the main organizer of the movement, a woman known as “Eva,” said she believed the rally “exceeded politics” and directly reflected public support for change.
“This event is a turning point for politics,” she said. “We want to break the traditional blue-green divide and turn our politics into something that is warm.”
Organizers say cross-party support from mayoral candidates running in the Nov. 27 elections showed that their work had not gone unnoticed.
Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) commented through his campaign that he “recognized the movement and is willing to support the [rally].”
“Hu very much supports this judicial reform,” campaign official Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said. “During this election, one of Hu’s main focuses … includes more protection for children, teenagers and women.”
Other politicians backing their initiatives include Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Greater -Taichung candidate Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) and Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate in Greater -Kaohsiung, who said last week that she would be willing to be a lifelong volunteer for the movement.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is running for Sinbei mayor, met with Eva yesterday, promising the party’s support and saying that she found the rally “extremely important.”
“[Tsai] empathizes deeply with the principles of the movement and thinks that child abuse is something that should definitely not be happening in our society today,” campaign spokesperson Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) had also apparently given his blessing for the rally, Eva said, granting organizers permission to use city streets on short notice.
CROWDS EXPECTED
Organizers say they expect that upwards of 30,000 people will take part in Saturday’s rally. It will take place on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office starting at 4pm.
Among their demands is the creation of new laws fashioned after a package of acts known as Megan’s Law that has been passed in the US. The laws would require the creation of a sex offender list that would publicize personal information on convicted child molesters.
Under the proposal, offenders would also have to notify local law enforcement agencies of any changes in address after their release and stay at least 600m away from schools and playgrounds.
The initiative has already received support from lawmakers in both major parties, while Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and justice officials have said the proposal would be studied.
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