A "martial law mindset" still exists in various aspects of Taiwanese bureaucracy 20 years after martial law was lifted, non-governmental groups said yesterday after examining events over the past year.
The Assembly and Parade Law (
The Assembly and Parade Law, passed in 1992, provides strict regulations for organizing demonstrations and requires that would-be demonstrators apply for a permit before holding a public gathering.
"The law places obstacle after obstacle in the way of demonstrations ... and gives the police too much power," said Liu Shu-ya (
Under the Assembly and Parade Law, police officers at the site of a protest have the authority to call off the demonstration if they deem an act there to be illegal, Liu said.
Simon Chang (
He said that one of the union's previous protests had not been declared illegal, even after union members threw eggs at police.
"But nowadays most of us have been arrested or prosecuted for violating the Assembly and Parade Law even though demonstrations are more peaceful," he said. "So what difference has the end of martial law made?"
Meanwhile, president of the Judicial Reform Foundation Lin Feng-cheng (
"After the Hsichih Trio were sentenced to death last month, the presiding judge said: `I could not find a reason to declare them not guilty,'" Lin said. "If a judge needs to find a reason to prove someone's innocence, the judiciary is obviously a remnant of martial law."
Lin was referring to three young men who were first convicted of murder 16 years ago in a case riddled with problems such as a lack of evidence and allegations that the defendants confessions were extracted through torture.
Although the three were acquitted in 2003 after a long struggle by human rights and judicial reform activists, the Taiwan High Court reversed the decision last month.
In related news, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday called on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), to face up to history and correct the mistakes that the KMT made during its administration.
Martial law was imposed on Taiwan by the KMT regime from 1949 to 1987.
Lu, who is on a 12-day journey to three of the nation's allies in Central America and the Caribbean, made the remarks in Guatemala -- the last leg of her trip -- in response to questions about a series of activities organized by the KMT to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the lifting of martial law.
Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling and CNA
TENSIONS: The Chinese aircraft and vessels were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a joint air and sea military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense said A relatively large number of Chinese military aircraft and vessels were detected in Taiwan’s vicinity yesterday morning, apparently en route to a Chinese military exercise in the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. In a statement, the ministry said 36 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including J-16 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or an extension of it, and were detected in the southern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from 5:20am to 9:30am yesterday. They were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
CASES SLOWING: Although weekly COVID-19 cases are rising, the growth rate has been falling, from 90 percent to 30 percent, 14 percent and 6 percent, the CDC said COVID-19 hospitalizations last week rose 6 percent to 987, while deaths soared 55 percent to 99, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the recent wave of infections would likely peak this week. People aged 65 or older accounted for 79 percent of the hospitalizations and 90 percent of the deaths, the majority of whom have or had underlying health conditions, CDC data showed. The youngest hospitalized case last week was a six-month-old, who was born preterm and was unvaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. The infant had a fever, coughing and a runny nose early this month, but