Defending Freedom of Speech and Denouncing Unlawful Police Actions

Following the Dapu Incident, there have been successive incidents of peace advocates being unlawfully arrested, detained, and transferred by the police. Notably, today (July 23), when President Ma attended the inauguration ceremony of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Professor Hsu Shih-jung of the Department of Land Economics at National Chengchi University shouted the slogan "Demolish Dapu today, demolish the government tomorrow" as the President's motorcar passed through the traffic control zone. He was subsequently arrested by the police on charges of "public endangerment" and taken to the Datong Police Station. During a scuffle with the police, a supporting student surnamed Hung was also wrestled down by officers, causing him to hit his head on the sidewalk, bleed, and be rushed to the hospital. The police even attempted to forcefully remove the injured student from the emergency room under the pretext that he was an "in-flagrante-delicto suspect of public endangerment." Additionally, Premier Chiang Yi-hua was met with public protests while attending a new book launch at the Central News Agency, and three individuals, including a student surnamed Huang, were taken by police to the Jianguo and Changchun Police Stations of the Zhongshan Precinct, respectively.

Based on the above circumstances, we make the following three demands of the Ma administration:

1. Implement the Two Covenants and Protect Constitutional Freedom of Speech

   Citizens shouting slogans such as "Demolish Dapu today, demolish the government tomorrow" at the President falls within the scope of protection of "freedom of speech" under Article 11 of the Constitution and "freedom of opinion" under the Two Covenants. General Comment No. 34 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) further elaborates on the protection of freedom of opinion, stating that under no circumstances shall individuals exercising their freedom of opinion and expression be subjected to arbitrary arrest, torture, or threats to their life or other acts of violence; otherwise, such actions fail to meet the requirements of Article 19 of the ICCPR. Since our country has already domesticated the Two Covenants, it is obligated under their provisions to guarantee that the people may freely exercise their right to freedom of expression, free from unlawful interference intended to silence them. The Ma administration must not use the convenience of public power to transform from a guarantor of obligations into a perpetrator of rights violations!

2. Cease Unlawful and Abusive Actions

   According to the practical jurisprudence of the Supreme Court, the offense of "public endangerment" under Article 185 of the Criminal Code must reach the degree of substantially congesting or damaging roads or obstructing traffic. As the actions of the professor and students clearly did not constitute any relevant criminal offense, the police had no right to arrest them as flagrante-delicto offenders. The police's forcible removal of citizens on the grounds of this article is completely without legal basis! Furthermore, Article 12 of the Special-Service Personnel Act raises concerns of unduly expanding the powers of the National Security Bureau, leading to today's abuses of power, and warrants revision and review.

3. Cease Police Violence and Stop Using the Police as an Instrument of Unlawfulness

   The unlawful and violent arrests of citizens by the National Security Bureau and the police not only constitute the crime of abuse of authority in prosecution and punishment under Article 125 of the Criminal Code, the crime of unlawful deprivation of personal liberty under Article 302, and the crime of causing bodily injury under Article 277, but also severely infringe upon the fundamental right to freedom of speech. Therefore, we demand an end to the abuse of police powers to commit violence, and simultaneously call upon police officers not to become puppet instruments for superiors' lawlessness and chaos, nor scapegoats for state abuse of power; otherwise, they may face imprisonment for not less than one year and up to seven years.

Joint Statement Organizations

Taiwan Forever Association
Taiwan Association for Human Rights Enforcement of the Two Covenants
Taiwan Association for Human Rights
Environmental Jurists Association
Taiwan Democratic Front
Cheng-She
Taipei Bar Association Human Rights Committee
Judicial Reform Foundation
Cheng Nan-jung Foundation
Environmental Law Committee, Taiwan Bar Association