Minister of the Interior Liao Liou-yi (廖了以) yesterday admitted that the manner in which police attempted to verify information that a university student had been planning to engage in violence during the demonstrations against President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Sunday was inappropriate.
A Tamkang University student surnamed Chen (陳) told a press conference on Tuesday that police officers visited his home in Pingtung County on Monday — a day after the rally — and asked his mother if he took part in the demonstrations.
Chen said he was only a university student who pays attention to current affairs, but that the manner in which police inquired about him made him feel threatened.
“It’s as if the White Terror has returned,” he said.
The National Police Agency later said that police inquired about Chen’s whereabouts after receiving information from the National Security Bureau claiming that a man with the same name as the student might throw petrol bombs during the rally.
At the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee meeting yesterday, Liao told Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yu Tian (余天) that the information turned out to be a false lead.
“In a democracy like Taiwan, everyone is free to take part in demonstrations. I would not tolerate it if someone were harassed by police for participating in a rally,” Liao said.
“We received information that someone with the same name as the student could engage in violence during the rally. Now we know the information was false,” he said.
Liao initially said police did nothing wrong as their sole intention was to ensure the safety of demonstrators.
After Yu protested several times, Liao admitted that police could have handled the matter with more tact.
“Police officers should act more carefully so that people will not feel threatened,” Liao said. “I will ask officers to go to the student’s house to explain everything to his mother.”
Judicial Reform Foundation executive director Lin Feng-jeng (林峰正) said he doubted Liao was telling the truth.
“If police established that the information they had been given was false, they could have apologized to the student and his family on the spot,” Lin said.
“Why did they wait until the student complained at a news conference and a lawmaker raised questions on the matter before apologizing?” he asked.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS