Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday asked for leniency toward protesters from Minister of Justice Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪), who previously said members of the Sunflower movement who broke the law during action over the government’s handling of the cross-strait service trade agreement will not be treated differently from other lawbreakers.
During a meeting of the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee yesterday, DPP Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the student-led Sunflower movement represents a constitutional issue and the protesters’ actions were based on the principle of civil disobedience.
“The protests are against injustice by the government and the public should be not punished according to the criminal code,” Ker said.
“My position is clear and has never changed — prosecutors must handle the case according to the law,” Luo said in reponse.
Meanwhile, DPP Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) said Taipei police officers asked National Taiwan University Hospital to provide medical records of people who checked in to the hospital’s emergency unit following the eviction of protesters who broke into the Executive Yuan building on March 24.
Prosecutors and police officers infringed upon protesters’ human rights by examining their personal information, Yu said.
In response, Luo asked: “Is it wrong for law enforcement officers to establish the truth by collecting and studying evidence?”
Separately yesterday, former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), in response to media queries about the issue of student protesters facing criminal charges, said his heart aches for the students.
“The students’ actions are for the country and society, they are not doing this for themselves. What criminal offenses have they committed?” Lee said on the sidelines of an appearance at the Taiwan High Court to defend himself in a case in which he is accused of having embezzled state funds.
“The protesters have made a great contribution to the nation’s progress. The government does not listen to the people, so their actions brought Taiwan’s democratization to a new level,” he added.
The student-led protesters, who have occupied the legislative chamber since March 18 in protest against the government’s handling of the cross-strait service trade agreement, announced on Monday night that they would withdraw from the chamber today at 6pm.
The Taipei Police Department said yesterday that it planned to deploy 1,600 police officers to deal with the withdrawal today, as well as to protect the Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan complex and other government agencies in the area.
If there are protesters who refuse to leave the legislative chamber, the police will urge them to leave and they do not rule out carrying them away if they refuse to go, the police authority said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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