Taipei prosecutors today summoned former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and former KMT spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) for questioning for allegedly holding an illegal assembly in April.
KMT Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) is also expected to be summoned for questioning soon, prosecutors said.
Hsieh requested leave and would not appear in court today, people familiar with the matter said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
It was the first time that the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office had summoned Chu and Yang for questioning in the case, and they were released afterward.
“We are here today to uphold the Republic of China Constitution's guarantees on the people's rights to assembly and parade,” Chu said. “We are all adhering to the Constitution's protections for people's rights, and we will insist on the Republic of China Constitution's provisions safeguarding assembly and parade rights.”
“Every time we stand in front of the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office, we are here to speak out for the nation’s democracy, freedom, fairness and justice,” Yang wrote on social media after being released.
She said that she would continue to be brave, and defend and strive for a future the younger generation wants.
Chu, Yang and Hsieh are suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding a protest on Apr. 17 outside the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed.
Chu called on party members to protest after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), director of the KMT's Taipei chapter, and several other KMT staffers were questioned over the alleged forgery of signatures in recall campaigns targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators.
Police said that they did not comply with repeated orders to disperse, in accordance with the Assembly and Parade Act, and the case was referred to Taipei prosecutors for investigation.
Immediately after attending a rally on Ketagalan Boulevard on Apr. 26, Chu, Hsieh and Yang went to the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng First Precinct for questioning, despite being told to report to police on Apr. 28.
After leaving the precinct, Chu said that the Constitution guarantees freedom of assembly and association, and President William Lai (賴清德) was trying to silence the people.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiao-kuang
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