The Untold Truth Behind the March 24 Eviction

Recent state compensation rulings regarding the March 24 Executive Yuan eviction have sparked controversy, with a few politicians attempting to incite confrontation between police and citizens. They paint all protesters that night as "rioters" and claim the eviction was entirely lawful. However, if this were the truth of that night, how could the court dare to rule that police used excessive force? (Knowing that state compensation lawsuits are never easy!) Why do many citizens still ask today: "Have the police officers who beat people been found?"

Ultimately, such controversy exists because over the past five years, the government has never disclosed the "truth" of the March 24 eviction—including video footage of the police eviction process (the police hold numerous evidence-gathering discs), the decision-making process and timeline, and the number and causes of injuries among both citizens and police. Furthermore, the police drove away or isolated journalists that night, leaving the public unaware of the full picture and giving politicians room for manipulation.

It is not surprising that public opinion is puzzled by the ruling, because people do not know that the group of people who broke into the Executive Yuan that night had already been arrested and controlled before 10:00 PM (they are not the plaintiffs in this state compensation case). Instead, in the early hours of the 24th, the police began evicting thousands of unarmed, peaceful sit-in protesters (the plaintiffs in this case) who had simply walked in through the uncontrolled main gates. They were merely sitting and chanting slogans in Pei-p'ing East Road and the driveway inside the Executive Yuan; there were no such things as smashing or "rioting," and many had not even entered the Executive Yuan.

Yet in places out of reach of media cameras that night, there were indeed out-of-control police officers who used batons, shields, fists, and kicks to swarm and beat citizens who had fallen to the ground and could not resist, waved batons to chase and beat people everywhere, directly struck the heads or violently jabbed the genitals of dragged citizens, or used high-pressure water jets directly on the heads of sit-in protesters. Some evidence-gathering police officers even shouted from the side, "Kick him to death! (in Taiwanese)."... The police may lawfully evict people, but they cannot swing batons down upon citizens who show no aggressive behavior and offer no resistance, can they? Otherwise, how are we any different from authoritarian states like China?

What a responsible government should do at this moment is to immediately release the police evidence-gathering videos of the March 24 eviction and reveal the truth. This will allow all sectors of society to engage in dialogue and mutual understanding, while preventing unscrupulous politicians from repeatedly using misinformation to incite social confrontation for electoral mobilization, stigmatizing victims of state violence as "rioters," and even smearing the judiciary with political language. At the same time, it will let society know that there were still many police officers who strictly observed legal boundaries that night; not every officer was a "rogue cop."

Hardworking police officers and peacefully protesting citizens are alike: both stem from a love for this land and an intolerance toward the collapse of democracy. They deserve this truth.

※ This article was published in the Liberty Times on Nov. 12, 2019