Legislators and the Judicial Reform Foundation yesterday accused the police of abusing their authority by using excessive force against peaceful protesters during Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien’s (連勝文) recent campaign events.
They spoke in response to denials by National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) that police used excessive force against bystanders voicing dissent against the government.
Several protesters were shoved, roughed up and dragged away by uniformed police officers in Taipei’s Ximending District (西門町) on Wednesday evening last week, when President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who also serves as KMT chairman, joined Lien canvassing.
One person said he was immediately surrounded by several officers after shouting: “Down with Ma Ying-jeou,” before being punched and dragged to a nearby clothing store, where he was wrestled to the ground and held for some time.
When asked about these incidents at a legislative committee meeting on Monday, Wang said: “I do not believe the police used excessive force in the line of duty.”
Wang said the agency dispatched 215 police officers to Ximending that evening because a larger force than normal was needed to provide security for the president, due to high pedestrian traffic in the area.
He added that the police had received word that some people had threatened to disrupt Ma’s appearance, but he refused to elaborate.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) said that the protesters were unarmed and did not pose any threat, “but they were beaten up and dragged away just for voicing dissent. The police force used excessive violence against people in the streets.”
Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安) said one student who wore a stage mask was just passing by the area, but was questioned and roughed up by the police, who then dragged him away.
“Is this not police violence against citizens? Are we living in a police state now?” Chou said.
Regarding Wang’s comments, Kao Yung-cheng (高涌誠), a lawyer and member of the Judicial Reform Foundation, said that under the Ma administration, people have experienced more stringent control and violent tactics by the police.
“Most of the time, the protesters had not posed any ‘clear and immediate danger’ at these events. The police and security forces have abused their authority to suppress protest activities. That is in violation of our nation’s Constitution,” he said.
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