Lawmakers across party lines yesterday criticized a recent search by military police of the home of a man who allegedly had documents pertaining to the White Terror era, saying such conduct was reminiscent of the darkest period in the nation’s history.
“Such a home search is utterly reprehensible given that there is little chance the act of possessing documents from a period marred by the absence of the rule of law would break any laws,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said on Facebook.
Kuan said she has written to the Ministry of National Defense demanding an explanation for the Feb. 19 search of the house belonging to a man, surnamed Wei (魏), who has been charged by the Taipei Military Police Station with possessing stolen property and interfering with personal privacy by selling old government documents.
According to an Internet post on Saturday by Wei’s daughter, her father’s collection of several White Terror era documents was confiscated by military police after they searched her home without a warrant.
She said that her father had been taken in for questioning, which lasted several hours, and was not released until midnight. The ministry subsequently offered him NT$15,000 in “hush money,” she said.
The Military Police Command yesterday dismissed her claims, saying her father had signed a consent form for the search and had voluntarily handed over the documents. The investigation was conducted in accordance with due process, it said.
DPP spokesman Yang Chia-liang (楊家俍) said in a news release that such conduct was unimaginable in a democratic nation, and went beyond the military police’s mandate.
“We denounce such an unlawful abuse of power and infringement of human rights,” Yang said, urging the government agencies involved to discipline the responsible personnel and the legislature to step up its supervision of such matters.
New Power Party (PFP) Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said the incident was a repeat of the White Terror era.
His office has asked the Military Police Command and ministry officials to attend a news conference today to clarify the situation.
“I have also demanded that they make public relevant documents,” Hsu wrote on Facebook.
The People First Party caucus issued a statement saying that any search of a private residence required a warrant and that even an emergency case would need consent from judicial authorities afterward.
“This case was neither urgent nor did it pose a threat to the public. The Military Police Station’s conduct crossed the red line of human rights laid down by the Constitution and indicates a need for further legal education,” the caucus said.
Caucus director Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) said the apparent lack of legal training for military police shows that the nation’s authoritarian legacy continues to linger.
“Military police officers are mainly responsible for investigating cases involving military personnel... Illegal questioning of civilians by military police is a product of the authoritarian regime and should not continue to exist in a democracy,” Chang said.
Caucus convener Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said the government must find out who ordered the military police to investigate Wei.
We must not let the remainders of authoritarianism continue to hang over our democratic society, Lee said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Culture and Communications Committee director-general Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said the ministry should look into the matter and apologize to the public if any process of the investigation was improper.
“If no irregularities were involved, the ministry should also explain the probing process in detail to the public,” Lin said.
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
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
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