The High Court on Thursday began hearing an appeal in the case of Taiwanese independence advocates accused of damaging the Republic of China (ROC) national flag, with a ruling expected on Oct. 29.
The case dates back to October 2015, when a group led by Chen Yi-ting (陳儀庭) used knives to slash dozens of ROC flags and break flagpoles erected along a bridge in New Taipei City during Double Ten National Day celebrations.
Chen Yi-ting, Chen Miao-ting (陳妙婷), Liu Pei-hsuan (劉珮瑄), Hsu Ta-wei (徐大為) and Liao An-chi (廖安祈) were later apprehended and admitted carrying out the act.
Photo: Yang Kuo-wen, Taipei Times
They were charged under Article 160 of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes publicly damaging or insulting the national flag, an offense commonly referred to as “insulting the national flag.”
In its first ruling, the New Taipei City District Court found the five defendants guilty of the “offense of insulting the national flag,” sentencing each to 20 days in detention.
The sentences were commutable to fines of NT$20,000.
Chen Yi-ting, Chen Miao-ting and Liu filed appeals, while Hsu and Liao did not contest the verdict.
Chen argued that the case was about freedom of expression and the right to define one’s national identity.
“That flag does not represent my Taiwan nation. If it were my national flag, I would defend it with my life,” he said.
In its second ruling, the New Taipei City District Court acquitted the three appellants. The judges cited Article 11 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedoms of speech, writing, publication, and expression in all forms, which is not limited to words or speech alone.
Prosecutors appealed the acquittal.
The High Court later held that the “offense of insulting the national flag” infringes on the constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and freedom of thought, and that the punishment prescribed under Article 160 contravened the principle of proportionality.
In 2017, instead of continuing the trial, the High Court referred the matter to the Constitutional Court for interpretation, but the case had stalled amid a backlog at the Constitutional Court.
With the case unresolved for eight years, the High Court convened a new panel of judges in August to reopen proceedings, and the three appellants were summoned to appear at Thursday’s hearing.
At the opening session, the defendants argued that damaging the national flag was a form of political expression protected by the Constitution.
They said they did not intend to insult the emblem of the ROC, and therefore the charges should be dismissed.
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