Legislators are set to question the police chief and government officials today in a legislative committee over what has been described as one of the most bloody and violent crackdowns in recent memory when police evicted thousands of student protesters from the Executive Yuan in Taipei and injured dozens early on Monday morning.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), convener of the Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee, said yesterday that he had demanded that three senior government officials report on the police force’s order-keeping mission during the past week and its crackdown on the protesters, which began on Sunday.
The officials are Executive Yuan Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan (李四川), Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) and National Police Agency Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞).
Photo: CNA
The DPP called for the public to send in their photos and video clips recorded during the eviction of thousands of students and other protesters, who had broken off from the protest at the Legislative Yuan and took over the Executive Yuan compound on Sunday night.
DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊毅) told a press conference that the public is unaware of what actually took place at the Executive Yuan compound in the latter part of the eviction because journalists had been removed from the compound by then.
Many students were beaten and seriously injured during that period as police were free from media scrutiny and could do whatever they wanted, Lee Chun-yi said.
A number of video clips showing police officers using excessive violence that were uploaded to YouTube have been removed from the site for unknown reasons, prompting suspicion that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration had those videos “flagged” for violation of the site’s community guidelines.
The DPP has established a platform to collect evidence of the use of excessive force by police officers and is ready to take legal action against those who should be held accountable, DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said.
Several riot police officers might be facing attempted murder charges, lawyer Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said.
Huang said Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and Wang should also be held accountable for ordering the crackdown, adding that while the evacuation of reporters before the crackdown was not illegal, it could have infringed on the freedom of the press.
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) also condemned what it said was excessive use of force in a news conference and said that the party is considering filing a lawsuit against the police over a serious injury sustained by TSU Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安) during the crackdown.
Chou was knocked down by riot police during the eviction, which left her unconscious, Huang said.
The lawmaker suffered a bone fracture under one of her eyes and remained hospitalized.
Meanwhile, a number of women’s rights groups, including the National Alliance of Taiwan Women’s Associations and the Awakening Foundation, yesterday condemned the Executive Yuan’s decision to order the eviction.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘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