Media and show business personalities yesterday joined other protesters in front of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigation Division (SID) to demand the resignation of Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘), who had allegedly approved the use of illegal wiretaps.
Huang reportedly met with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 to discuss the alleged improper lobbying by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) of former minister of justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫), High Prosecutors’ Office Head Prosecutor Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌) and High Prosecutors’ Office prosecutor Lin Shiow-tao (林秀濤) on behalf of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘).
Though an investigation into Wang’s actions had been closed without charges being filed and only administrative penalties have been suggested for him, the public and the DPP had been angered at what they called the “illegal grounds” of the division’s wiretapping of the phone lines of Wang, Ker and others.
Photo: CNA
Former TVBS vice president Ge Shu-ren (葛樹人) and actress Kuo Mei-chu (郭美珠) took part in the protest, along with the 929 protest event spokesperson Ryan Wu (吳睿穎) and others dressed in black — an allusion to police covert activities — to protest Huang’s allegations against Ker.
The SID initially responded to the protest by pulling down the metal doors that block off the hallway to its office, but after Kuo took off her shoes and started using them to hammer the door — an act that encouraged other protestors to try to manually raise the doors — the SID completely shut the door, while police officers formed a wall and started to push the protesters back.
Ge then calmed tensions by urging the protesters not to become irate over the matter and led the crowd in chanting slogans.
Ge said that he was against using personal influence for lobbying, but the crux of the issue lay not with Wang’s lobbying for Ker, but rather how the SIC handled its investigation.
The public cannot accept the division’s blatant wiretapping and infringement of rights, Ge said.
Ge also said that an anti-Ma protest scheduled for tomorrow would include a “wall” on which participants could vent their frustration.
A study published by online booking platform Expedia revealed searches for travel to Taipei have ballooned 2,786 percent following the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions due to the city being a “designation dupe” for Seoul. The TikTok trend for duping — referring to substituting a designation for a more inexpensive alternative — helped propel interest in Taipei, it said in a consumer survey titled “Unpack ‘24,” which was conducted from September to October in 14 countries. Location dupes are “every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true places travelers love,” Expedia trend tracker Melanie Fish said of the year’s popular alternatives, which
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
A small-scale protest that called on the government to cancel its plan to welcome Indian migrant workers in a bid to tackle Taiwan’s labor shortage was held in Taipei yesterday. During the protest, comprised of a few dozen people staged in front of the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard, the protest’s chief initiator, a woman identified only as “Yuna” said they wanted the central government to reconsider allowing migrant workers from India to enter Taiwan. Most people in Taiwan had little knowledge about the potential plan to allow in Indian migrant workers until a report in the media last month, she
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
RSS