Student protesters occupying the Legislative Yuan’s main chamber yesterday began cleaning up the room, following their leaders’ announcement on Monday night that they plan to withdraw from the legislature at 6 pm tomorrow.
Some students vacuumed the carpet, rolled up sleeping bags and rearranged the furniture, while others cleaned the desks and podium, taking down the posters and banners plastered around the chamber after protesters began their occupation on March 18 to protest the government’s handling of the cross-strait service trade pact.
A Facebook page was set up early yesterday morning by netizens who support the Sunflower movement, calling for public help and donations to repair and pay for any damage to the legislature.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
Titled “Repairing 318 Legislative Yuan,” the page went online just a few hours after the student leaders of the protest announced their withdrawal plan.
Legislative Yuan staffers have previously said that the student occupation damaged chairs, doors, carpets microphones, the broadcasting system and some valuable paintings. Some local media reports have quoted unnamed sources as saying the repairs and clean-up operation could cost more than NT$100 million (US$3.3 million).
Employees of the Legislative Yuan’s General Affairs Department yesterday entered the main chamber to begin assessing the damage.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Unconvinced by reports of multimillion dollar estimates, the “Repairing 318 Legislative Yuan” Facebook page asked construction, engineering, design and broadcasting experts to assess the venue and help give their own estimates for repair jobs.
The page has received several fervent responses, with one netizen saying that “the student protesters have written a new chapter in Taiwan’s history and pushed your future and mine in a good direction. In return, they faced legal charges and the burden of hefty repair bills.”
While some Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers have said that the government should not use taxpayers’ money to cover the restoration costs, General Affairs Department head Tsai Wei-min (蔡衛民) turned down the offer from netizens to help pay, saying the legislature will take care of the operation.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, the Democratic Front Against Cross-Strait Trade in Service Agreement yesterday appealed for public donations, saying the student protest movement is NT$2.53 million in debt as of Monday.
A netizen named “omanorboyo” reposted the request on the Professional Technology Temple (PTT) — the nation’s largest academic online bulletin board — saying: “It is time for us to come forward, at least so the students can exit honorably, without [financial] burdens.”
Additional reporting by CNA
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS