Control Yuan member Chien Lin Hui-chun (錢林慧君) yesterday said she would halt her investigation into the forcible removal of students occupying the Executive Yuan on March 24 because her term is coming to a close, but she also criticized the National Police Agency (NPA) for its lack of help.
The Executive Yuan occupation, led by student leader Dennis Wei (魏揚) and others, was a spinoff of the Sunflower movement that occupied the Legislative Yuan’s main chamber from March 18 to April 10 to protest the government’s handling of the cross-strait service trade agreement.
Student groups petitioned the Control Yuan in April to investigate what they said was excessive use of force by police in removing protesters from the Executive Yuan. They also called for the impeachment of Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and National Police Agency Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) over the incident. Chien Lin volunteered to investigate.
She said that while it appeared the police agency’s removal of students had violated the principle of proportionality, she wanted to gather more information.
Chien Lin said she met with Ministry of the Interior Deputy Minister Chiu Chang-yueh (邱昌嶽), NPA Deputy Director-General Tsai Chun-chang (蔡俊章), Taipei City Police Department Chief Huang Sheng-yung (黃昇永), Taipei’s Zhongzheng District First Police Precinct Chief Fang Yang-ning (方仰寧) and others to clarify the situation.
All of the NPA officials she talked with said the protesters had been removed “in accordance with the law” and there was no question of illegal removal or any violations of the principle of proportionality, Chien Lin said.
However, when she asked for the video recordings of the evacuation process and the list of civilians and police officers injured during the incident, the police told her the material had been given to prosecutors who were investigating the case.
The police claimed they could not divulge information about an ongoing investigation, Chien Lin said, adding that she had requested the police provide her proof from the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office that it had the material.
Chien Lin said she received official notice from the prosecutors’ office stating they were using the material as basis for ongoing investigation and could not provide the materials for her to review.
Hher investigation had to end because of a lack of evidence, Chien Lin said. However, she said she felt the police had been evasive and unprofessional and their behavior could be improved upon.
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