The Supreme Court yesterday ordered the retrial of eight Sunflower movement figures sentenced last year to two to four years in prison over their roles in the occupation of the Executive Yuan in 2014.
In remanding the case to the High Court, the Supreme Court said that the defendants were exercising “civil disobedience” and should receive more lenient sentences.
The High Court in April last year sentenced the Sunflower movement figures, including Dennis Wei (魏揚), for inciting others to commit crimes related to the occupation of the Executive Yuan complex during the 23-day protest.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The defendants appealed the case to the Supreme Court.
In its ruling yesterday, the court revoked the guilty verdicts and ordered a retrial, based on the argument that the defendants were exercising their “right of resistance” or “civil disobedience” as part of their right to freedom of expression.
The “right of resistance” is used to protect and restore a democratic constitutional order, and is legal and legitimate under the Constitution, the court said.
Although the Constitution does not explicitly stipulate the “right to resistance,” it should still be recognized based on the constitutional principles under popular sovereignty, it said.
Therefore, behavior that exercises the “right of resistance” can be used to defeat or mitigate the legal consequences of what might otherwise be unlawful conduct, it said.
The court can apply these rules related to behavior under extenuating circumstances, such as cases of self-defense, to reduce a defendant’s sentence or overrule any unlawful conduct, it added.
The court ruling also said that the High Court did not look into the reason for the defendants’ behavior, nor did it thoroughly investigate and explain if that behavior constituted the crime of inciting others to commit crimes.
The Sunflower movement was a protest against the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government’s handling of a trade in services agreement with China. It began after then-KMT legislator Chang Ching-chung (張慶忠) rushed through the agreement without debate on March 17, 2014.
During almost 23 days of protests from March 18 to April 10, hundreds of people broke into the Legislative Yuan, while thousands demonstrated outside the complex.
One group, which included the eight defendants, attempted to occupy the nearby Executive Yuan on March 23, but were forcibly removed by police during the early hours of March 24.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted them in 2015 for inciting others to commit crimes, obstructing officials in carrying out their duties and damaging government property.
During the first trial, the Taipei District Court found them all not guilty. Prosecutors later appealed to the High Court, which overturned the initial verdicts.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS