A civil suit against hotel Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport filed by lawyer Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) on behalf of the Economic Democracy Union, formerly the Democratic Front Against Cross-Strait Trade in Service Agreement, was settled on Thursday.
Lai and six other members of the organization in June 2014 reserved rooms and checked in at the hotel to protest a meeting between China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) and then-Mainland Affairs Council minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) on the cross-strait service trade agreement.
Hotel personnel allegedly entered their rooms without permission and, with the assistance of the Aviation Police Bureau, detained the seven inside their rooms for nearly 10 hours.
Lai filed litigation on behalf of the group against the hotel on both civil and criminal charges.
The Taoyuan District Court in May last year ruled the hotel and other involved parties should pay NT$76,500 (US$2,541) in compensation. Lai appealed that verdict.
A hotel representative on Thursday read a formal apology, settling the issue with an increased compensation of NT$120,000, Lai said.
Novotel’s general manager, deputy general manager and chief engineer received guilty verdicts on the criminal charges in October last year, Lai said, adding that the ruling was final, as the three have not appealed the verdict.
Lai said he hoped the hotel would take the lesson to heart and refrain from sacrificing the dignity and freedoms of its customers to pander to China, adding that the Chinese model of autocratic government should not be brought to Taiwan.
He also extended thanks to his lawyers, who have been volunteering on the case over the past three years, as well as the judge for upholding the rights of the hotel’s clients.
A criminal suit against the Aviation Police Bureau for restricting the group’s freedom of movement and a civil case asking for NT$3.5 million in compensation are still pending.
Lai said that calling on the police to answer to the law and asking for compensation is reasonable, in the name of human rights and the rule of law, adding that he hoped the courts would reach verdicts as soon as possible.
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