5th Anniversary of the March 23 Movement Against the Black Box Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement

Photo / Alysa Chiu

March 23, Five Years Ago

Five years ago today was the occupation of the Executive Yuan. After five days of the March 18 Movement Against the Black Box Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement, the government finally held a press conference, yet merely reiterated the importance of the trade agreement while giving no positive response to the movement's demands. The public's long-accumulated anger and disappointment finally erupted. On the evening of March 23, protesters scaled the barbed wire barricades and occupied the Executive Yuan, hoping to draw the government's attention and elicit a positive response through escalated action.

However, upon learning that the Executive Yuan had also been occupied, then-Premier Chiang Yi-huah instructed the police to clear the Executive Yuan before business hours. To execute the order and forcibly disperse the crowd, police attacked citizens with shields, batons, and physical blows, and even sprayed high-pressure water cannons directly into the crowds. This brutal dispersal method resulted in over a hundred people sustaining minor to severe injuries.

Later, the Executive Yuan even filed charges against citizens who entered the compound that night, while those injured by the violent dispersal filed private prosecutions accusing the state of violence. All of these lawsuits have been undertaken single-handedly by the volunteer lawyer platform.

Litigation Process and Current Progress

Among them, a total of 132 citizens who entered the Executive Yuan to stage a sit-in protest were indicted. On May 20, 2016, the Executive Yuan withdrew charges of trespassing and property damage, but 17 individuals remain on trial in the second instance, facing charges including incitement and obstruction of official duties. Because the defendants and the legal team believe that the presiding judge in the second instance has exhibited clear bias in trial management and mental disposition, a motion for judicial recusal has been filed, alongside a request to suspend the trial pending a ruling confirmation.

Regarding the accusations of state violence, the first-instance court has begun hearing parts of the private prosecution cases. Summons have been successively issued to police precinct chiefs and other officials from that time to clarify spheres of responsibility; Wang Cho-chun and Chiang Yi-huah were also summoned to testify in court to understand how the dispersal orders were issued. Final oral arguments are scheduled for May 30. As for the "unidentified police officers" who carried out the actual attacks, courts have repeatedly dismissed the claims on the grounds that "plaintiffs cannot demand that the court exercise ex-officio investigation due to the difficulty of gathering evidence in a private prosecution in order to identify the defendants, otherwise the court would lose its character of fair trial and the position of an objective arbiter." This is currently being appealed to the third instance.

In the state compensation case, one plaintiff has already won. Subsequently, 30 other plaintiffs have successively filed claims for state compensation against the Taipei City Government and the Taipei City Police Department. These are currently being heard by the Taipei District Court's civil division, with final oral arguments scheduled for April 18.

March 23, Five Years Later

Five years later, those who occupied the Legislative Yuan due to opposition to the black box trade agreement were ultimately acquitted with finality, yet those who occupied the Executive Yuan have still not been able to walk out of the courtroom, their lives seemingly frozen in that night filled with despair and tears. But the volunteer lawyer platform has always been here. Since its inception, we have promised to see all litigation through to the end. Although many cases have not yet concluded, litigation progress has been repeatedly delayed, and some plaintiffs have dropped out one after another due to the unbearable burden of litigation, we still hope the court will grant a fair trial and that the truth of state violence will come to light, clarifying the attribution of responsibility. The volunteer lawyer platform will also steadfastly keep its promise, walking to the very end alongside the plaintiffs.