Three students and a fourth person were arrested at New Taipei City’s Fu Jen Catholic University at 1am yesterday after allegedly attempting to topple a bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and obstructing police officers.
Equipped with an angle grinder, a generator and a rope, student Lo Yi (羅宜) allegedly began cutting the statue at 12:30am, which drew the attention of university guards.
Officers from the Sinjhuang Precinct’s Fuying Police Station arrived minutes later.
Photo: CNA
Precinct investigation brigade head Chang Chun-ming (張俊明) told the students that their actions were in breach of the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) and constituted vandalism, adding that they would be arrested if they did not stop.
A crowd near the statue told officers that they had no right to arrest students on campus unless the university gave them permission.
Chang said that the officers were acting on a request by the university.
Photo: Lee Ya-wen, Taipei Times
Chang and several colleagues engaged in a loud exchange with Lo and others. They pulled Lo away from the statue, prompting scuffles.
Lo and another student, surnamed Chen (陳), were subdued by several officers and handcuffed.
A woman, surnamed Chen (陳), who the police said was “making irrational remarks,” was also handcuffed.
Another student, surnamed Lin (林), who was taking photographs at the scene, was also detained.
Lo was detained for breaches of the act, while the others were obstructing police officers in the course of their duties, Chang said.
They were taken to the precinct for questioning and at 8am were sent to the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office.
They were later released after the university said it would not file charges.
Lo made a hole near a foot of the statue and broke a cane Chiang holds, the university said, adding that repairs would cost about NT$5,000.
Lo said that statues of Chiang on campuses nationwide are defaced or tampered with by students ahead of Feb. 28 every year and are restored.
However, it is time they are toppled “once and for all,” he said.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
RSS