The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday stepped up its criticism over security arrangements for today’s high--profile meeting between cross-strait envoys, labeling the heavy police presence a form of “appeasement” toward Beijing.
About 2,000 police officers are expected to be deployed in parts of Taipei over the next two days to provide security for Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), the National Police Agency (NPA) said last week.
Chen will be on a three-day visit with Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤).
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) said an estimated 1,150 police officers from the Taipei City Police Department, with backup from the Aviation Police Office and the National Highway Police Bureau, were expected to comprise the bulk of the police task force.
During a press conference yesterday, DPP spokesperson Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) described the heavy police presence as a move that would stifle opposing voices and send the signal that the government lacked confidence in Taiwan’s liberties and democratic values.
“They are fulfilling Beijing’s -requests to appease China,” Cheng said.
The police action, known internally as “Operation Chi Hsin,” will also involve plainclothes police monitoring Chen’s public appearances, including the 40km route his motorcade is expected to take as it heads from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to the Grand Hotel, where he will be staying.
Police squads will also be deployed to areas surrounding the hotel as well as another undisclosed hotel near Miramar Entertainment Park, where Chen is expected to meet Mainland Affairs Council Chairperson Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) today, the Liberty Times wrote.
Chinese officials, led by -ARATS Deputy Chairman Zheng Lizhong (鄭立中), arrived in Taiwan yesterday to oversee final security preparations and confirm Chen’s itinerary.
The NPA, reportedly concerned about protests by pro--independence organizations, said it intended to increase the use of video recorders to avoid controversy.
Police officers were accused of confiscating Republic of China national flags and brutally cracking down on protesters during a previous round of meetings in Taipei between the two envoys in November 2008. Light clashes with police also took place during another round of talks in Taichung in December last year.
While the DPP said on -Wednesday it had no plans to launch popular protests this week, some pro-independence groups have said they would hold sit-ins and other forms of non-violent -protest around the meeting venue.
“We are taking to the streets to express our views that Taiwan and China are two different countries and [that we] oppose the secret negotiations between the two sides,” said Tsai Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴), a -National Taiwan University professor who heads the Taiwan Referendum Alliance.
Cheng said the protests should be protected by the law. They are an example of a spontaneous -public -reaction, he said, adding that such protests would not be out of place in other countries.
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