The Supreme Court yesterday ordered the retrial of eight Sunflower movement figures sentenced last year to two to four years in prison over their roles in the occupation of the Executive Yuan in 2014.
In remanding the case to the High Court, the Supreme Court said that the defendants were exercising “civil disobedience” and should receive more lenient sentences.
The High Court in April last year sentenced the Sunflower movement figures, including Dennis Wei (魏揚), for inciting others to commit crimes related to the occupation of the Executive Yuan complex during the 23-day protest.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The defendants appealed the case to the Supreme Court.
In its ruling yesterday, the court revoked the guilty verdicts and ordered a retrial, based on the argument that the defendants were exercising their “right of resistance” or “civil disobedience” as part of their right to freedom of expression.
The “right of resistance” is used to protect and restore a democratic constitutional order, and is legal and legitimate under the Constitution, the court said.
Although the Constitution does not explicitly stipulate the “right to resistance,” it should still be recognized based on the constitutional principles under popular sovereignty, it said.
Therefore, behavior that exercises the “right of resistance” can be used to defeat or mitigate the legal consequences of what might otherwise be unlawful conduct, it said.
The court can apply these rules related to behavior under extenuating circumstances, such as cases of self-defense, to reduce a defendant’s sentence or overrule any unlawful conduct, it added.
The court ruling also said that the High Court did not look into the reason for the defendants’ behavior, nor did it thoroughly investigate and explain if that behavior constituted the crime of inciting others to commit crimes.
The Sunflower movement was a protest against the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government’s handling of a trade in services agreement with China. It began after then-KMT legislator Chang Ching-chung (張慶忠) rushed through the agreement without debate on March 17, 2014.
During almost 23 days of protests from March 18 to April 10, hundreds of people broke into the Legislative Yuan, while thousands demonstrated outside the complex.
One group, which included the eight defendants, attempted to occupy the nearby Executive Yuan on March 23, but were forcibly removed by police during the early hours of March 24.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted them in 2015 for inciting others to commit crimes, obstructing officials in carrying out their duties and damaging government property.
During the first trial, the Taipei District Court found them all not guilty. Prosecutors later appealed to the High Court, which overturned the initial verdicts.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS