Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) yesterday criticized the government and police, saying there was serious encroachment of personal freedom and freedom of the press as police led “violent arrests of students and reporters” after protesters stormed the Ministry of Education building in Taipei late on Thursday.
DPP Legislator Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) demanded Minister of Education Wu Se-hwa’s (吳思華) resignation, saying the ministry had overseen “unprecedented violations of freedom of the press.”
Police arrested 33 people after a group stormed the building in protest over adjustments to high-school curriculum guidelines — which critics say were decided on in a “black box” procedure — and ministry officials who continue to ignore requests for dialogue.
Three reporters were among those arrested, including Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) photojournalist Liao Chen-huei (廖振輝), who was among the first to arrive after the protesters stormed the building.
While he was taking photographs, he was told by officers that he was to be arrested.
Another reporter, who works for Coolloud Collective (苦勞網) — an online platform dedicated to social activism — was also detained.
Huang said police intervention over the actions of the reporters had no legal basis.
“The Constitution protects the freedom of the press from government intervention to guarantee the autonomy and independence of the media’s role in supervising the government. Restricting reporters’ personal freedom is an attempt to cover up the truth and has seriously violated freedom of the press and obstructed the development of a democratic society,” Huang said.
Press freedom has deteriorated during the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) according to a Freedom House ranking, Huang said, adding that police had deployed disproportionate force to “evict the media” on March 23 last year during the Sunflower movement, drawing criticism from the International Federation of Journalists.
“The arrests of journalists on Thursday on the pretext of a lack of invitation from the ministry was a flagrant abuse of freedom of the press,” he said.
“The violent treatment by police, the handcuffing of unarmed students and the confiscation of cellphones, and the arrests of the journalists while prohibiting them from using recording equipment was unconstitutional,” Huang added.
“Where should reporters go if not where the news is happening?” Cheng asked.
Police told Cheng that the reporters were under investigation because the ministry has taken legal action against them.
One reporter said he was knocked on the back of the head by police, despite identifying himself as a member of the press.
The Liberty Times Union yesterday also lashed out at the ministry, denouncing its “taking reporters as criminal suspects.”
“The Zhongzeng First Precinct confiscated the reporters’ communication devices, detained them in the building and transported them to a mobile police department for prosecutors to investigate further, a process that assumed the reporters were suspects,” the union said.
“The union severely condemns the action, which is a suspected breach of constitutional rights and an offense against personal freedom. The action has seriously trampled upon freedom of the press,” it said in a statement, calling on the central government and local administrations to revisit standard operating procedures for dealing with social activism.
The Association of Taiwan Journalists said prohibiting reporters from using mobile phones and filing news stories was a serious breach of press freedom and human rights.
“We do not accept the actions of the Taipei Police Department, who passed the buck to the ministry and prosecutors after making the arrests of journalists, even after the reporters had clearly identified themselves,” the association said, adding that it would offer assistance to any of the affected journalists who want to take legal action.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and 13 local governments across the nation affiliated with the party issued a joint statement urging the ministry to not implement the curriculum guidelines as planned, withdraw lawsuits against student protesters and apologize to the public over the issue.
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS