Taipei would like see clearer rules applied to protest activities in the plaza in front of Taipei 101, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
“There is nothing wrong with the plaza serving to display Taiwan’s democracy and freedom, but there must be standards,” Ko said.
He said the city government would seek to establish a special “protest zone” on the site, while adding that the final policy would hinge on talks with the management of the Taipei 101 building, which administers the plaza.
In response to questions on how the city would response to a suit filed yesterday by the pro-unification Concentric Patriotism Association (愛國同心會) accusing the police department of infringing on their rights, Ko said that everything would be done in accordance with the law, but that group members should be more civilized when expressing their views.
As Taipei 101 is one of the most popular attractions for Chinese tourists in Taipei, Falun Gong practitioners and Taiwan independence advocates have regularly demonstrated at the site.
While most of the demonstrations have been peaceful without police interference, in recent years, pro-China groups — including the Concentric Patriotism Association — have often showed up, not only to campaign for their cause, but also allegedly to attack people who disagree with them.
Last week, association executive director Zhang Xiuye (張秀葉), a Chinese immigrant, was arrested on charges of verbally abusing police officers and interrupting official business, leading members of the group to file lawsuits against the mayor and Xinyi Police Precinct Chief Wu Ching-tien (吳敬田).
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
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