A Ministry of the Interior proposal to use pre-emptive detention against protesters who have repeatedly broken the law during demonstrations yesterday came under fire from human rights advocates, who said that it could be a step toward restricting freedom of expression.
“The idea is ridiculous, because in a democracy it’s just normal for people to be out on the streets to voice their opinion,” said Frida Tsai (蔡培慧), spokeswoman for the Taiwan Rural Front, which has organized numerous street protests.
“Pre-emptive detention is designed for people who have actually committed a crime, not for people who are on the street to voice their opinion,” Tsai said.
Photo: CNA
She said that some protesters may have broken the law during demonstrations, but the police cannot assume that they will do the same in future demonstrations and detain them beforehand.
“I would like to remind the police that we are a democracy, and, as representatives of the state power on the first line, officers should always remember that their job is to serve the people,” she added.
Tsai was responding to a proposal made earlier this week by Deputy Minister of the Interior Jonathan Chen (陳純敬), who said that he would ask the police to keep an eye on “extremists” who have repeatedly engaged in unlawful conduct during demonstrations and to forward relevant information to prosecutors, making them potential targets for pre-emptive detention.
Calling the idea “absurd,” Taiwan Association for Human Rights president and lawyer Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) accused the government of trying to suppress freedom of speech by threatening the public.
“Pre-emptive detention is commonly used against repeat offenders — and the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法) stipulates that the measure can only be used against offenders of specific crimes — to prevent them from repeating the crime. It is rarely used against protesters by governments around the world,” Chiu said.
“Moreover, I think it would be difficult for prosecutors to convince the judge to allow pre-emptive detention,” Chiu said.
Thomas Chan (詹順貴), a lawyer and long-time human rights and environmental activist, agreed, saying that he did not think pre-emptive detention could be used on protesters, since there is a set of strict regulations on how a person may be pre-emptively detained.
As eight basketball-playing international students appealed to the Taiwanese basketball industry after they were excluded from the draft of an upcoming new league merging the P.League+ and the T1 League, the new league’s preparatory committee spokesperson Chang Shu-jen (張樹人) yesterday said the committee would tomorrow discuss the supplementary measures and whether the international students can join the draft. The students on Tuesday called for support on their right to play in the upcoming new league, after a merger involving the two leagues impacted their eligibility for the draft. The international players from the University Basketball Association (UBA), led by first pick prospect
Some foreign companies are considering moving Taiwanese employees out of China after Beijing said it could impose the death penalty on “die-hard” Taiwanese independence advocates, four people familiar with the matter said. The new guidelines have caused some Taiwanese expatriates and foreign multinationals operating in China to scramble to assess their legal risks and exposure, said the people, who include a lawyer and two executives with direct knowledge of the discussions. “Several companies have come to us to assess the risks to their personnel,” said the lawyer, James Zimmerman, a Beijing-based partner at the Perkins Coie law firm. He declined to identify
BUSY DAY: After he met with the president and signed an economic development deal, the governor said it was ‘incredibly important that Texas shows solidarity with Taiwan’ Visiting Texas Governor Greg Abbott yesterday announced the opening of a state trade office in downtown Taipei to enhance cooperation and show that “Texas stands with Taiwan.” The State of Texas Taiwan Office is the second foreign office Texas has opened in the 21st century after Mexico, Abbott told a news conference in Taipei. “It shows that other than our geographic neighbor, Texas understands the importance of establishing an office in the country of Taiwan,” he said. “It is incredibly important that Texas shows solidarity with Taiwan, not just for the businesses of Taiwan and Texas — it is important for the entire
NOT ENOUGH: Although the US is to deliver Switchblade 300s and Altius 600M-Vs to Taiwan, military leaders believe the nation needs more attack drones, a source said The Ministry of National Defense (MND) has included the funding needed to mass-produce Type-1 and Type-2 suicide drones in next year’s budget plan, a military source said yesterday. Although the US government last month approved sales of Switchblade 300 loitering munitions and Altius 600M-V uncrewed aerial vehicles to Taiwan, which are scheduled for delivery between this year and the next, military leaders assessed that Taiwan would still have an inadequate number of attack drones to bolster national defense, the source said, asking to remain anonymous. Taiwan needs to mass produce locally made attack drones, including Type-1 and Type-2 suicide drones, they