The forced removal of protesters at a demonstration against amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) last year might have infringed upon their constitutional rights, the Control Yuan said yesterday as it issued corrective notices to the Taipei City Government and the Ministry of the Interior.
The encirclement of protesters and lawyers representing their interests, as well as their subsequent forced relocation to suburbs of Taipei on Dec. 23 last year, was inappropriate, reports by the Control Yuan’s Committee of Domestic Affairs and Ethnic Minorities said.
The committee passed a resolution to issue corrective notices to both branches on the grounds that their conduct was against Article 8 of the Constitution and both agencies should seek to rectify their mistakes, it said.
Photo: CNA
Article 8 of the Constitution guarantees the personal liberty of all people.
While the encircle-and-transport method of dealing with protesters results in fewer injuries compared with driving them off with water cannons and police batons, forcibly taking people to another area against their will could be regarded as restricting their freedom of movement, the committee said.
The questionable legality of the method is an issue that the agency, as the competent authority overseeing the enforcement of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), should be aware of, the committee said.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
The agency should consider amending the act to further clarify when and how force should be used so that beat cops know how to handle protests legally, the committee said.
If lawyers are providing legal counsel at protests and are not involved in illegal activities, they should be afforded their legally guaranteed right to safeguard the human rights of others, as set forth in the Attorney Regulation Act (律師法), the committee said.
Therefore, when representing others, lawyers should not be considered part of the protest and subject to relocation or forced dispersal, the committee said, adding that the Taipei Police Department’s treatment of lawyers was disrespectful and inappropriate.
While police on duty at protests have the right to enforce peace and prevent violence, they should observe the restraints imposed on their actions by Article 26 of the Assembly and Parade Act, the committee said.
According to Article 26, not granting approval to, restricting of or ordering the dispersal of assemblies and protests should give fair consideration to the rights of assembly for the people and such decisions should maintain the legal interests of others. Any action taken should be done in an appropriate manner and should not exceed the bounds of what is necessary to accomplish the goal.
In terms of procedure, police must first order the disbanding of any protest, and only upon the refusal to listen to multiple warnings, should they resort to forcibly disbanding protests, the committee said.
Also, the necessity of such intervention, and to what degree it infringes on the constitutional rights to free assembly and personal freedom, should be considered, the committee said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to