Tens of thousands of people rallied yesterday in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei and marched to the Executive Yuan, calling on government officials to apologize for forced land seizures and to stop such policies.
“It is Aug. 18 today, and it was just three years ago, on Aug. 17, that the government promised Dapu [Borough 大埔] residents that their houses would be preserved, while their farmland would be relocated,” Taiwan Rural Front (TRF) president Hsu Shih-jung (徐世榮) said.
“After government officials failed to keep their promises and instead flattened private homes, they ask us to remain calm, but how can we stay calm?” Hsu asked.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The crowd responded with cheering and applause.
“Apologize and compensate!” “Return the land to the people!” they shouted.
Hsu was referring to a negotiation meeting held in 2010 which featured Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), who was then premier; Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), the then minister of the interior; and Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻), following a series of protests against a plan to clear private land and homes to make way for a science park.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
However, despite government promises, four houses in Miaoli County’s Dapu were torn down unexpectedly on July 18, when the county commissioner sent in demolition squads escorted by police officers while the home owners and their supporters were in Taipei protesting the demolition plan.
Asked about the surprise demolition the day after, Liu called it a “god-given opportunity.”
“A month ago, we said that we will tear down the government if they don’t apologize, and now here we are,” said Liao Pen-chuan (廖本全), an associate professor at National Taipei University’s Department of Real Estate and Built Environment.
“We’re not flattening government buildings, but what we are going to do is to destroy the system, which is supposed to protect the disadvantaged. We’re also taking down politicians who are misusing the system to exploit the disadvantaged,” Liao added.
The crowd also set up a mock memorial hall for the county commissioner, with Liu’s portrait in the center, and flowers and incense burners in front of the portrait.
A bag of cow manure was also placed by the mock memorial for people to throw at Liu’s portrait.
“Liu Cheng-hung, cross over the bridge!” the crowd shouted, referring to a traditional belief that the spirit of a newly dead person crosses a bridge into the underworld for judgment.
Since it is believed that the spirits are confused and do not know the way, he or she needs to be reminded to cross the bridge.
Several other organizations for people affected by different development projects also showed up at the rally to show their support and to tell the crowd their stories.
The four families from the demolished houses in Dapu thanked the crowd for their support and promised they will stand with other victims of development projects from now on.
After the rally, the crowd made a stop at the Ministry of the Interior, which is in charge of approving development or urban projects, where they protested outside the building.
The protest was still ongoing as of press time.
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
RSS